Children amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and 7 injured, police told The Associated Press, a stunning improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the lifeless included a pregnant woman and lots of youngsters.

The stampede on the event organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people who got here to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, based on Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the place more than 80 million individuals live in poverty, in accordance with authorities statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. One way or the other the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Agency stated first responders have been able to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to death and bring them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they could to emergency workers. Medical doctors and emergency staff treated among the injured as they lay within the open discipline. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, shoes and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only identified himself as Daniel said "there have been so many kids” among the lifeless. 5 of the lifeless youngsters were from one mother, he told the AP, including that a pregnant girl also misplaced her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by kinfolk of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the situation.

The police spokeswoman mentioned the seven injured have been “responding to treatment."

The “Store for Free” event was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes previously.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas a minimum of 16 folks were killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained out of control throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

—

Related Press journalist Hilary Uguru in Warri, Nigeria, contributed.