Children amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 individuals lifeless and seven injured, police instructed The Related Press, a surprising development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant lady and lots of youngsters.

The stampede on the event organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned individuals who came to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in response to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, where more than 80 million people stay in poverty, in keeping with government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko mentioned. By some means the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency stated first responders were capable of evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to loss of life and convey them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the useless and offering any assistance they might to emergency employees. Docs and emergency staff handled a few of the injured as they lay in the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, shoes and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many kids” among the many useless. Five of the useless youngsters were from one mother, he told the AP, including that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, based on witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the scenario.

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured had been “responding to treatment."

The “Shop for Free” occasion was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes previously.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas at least 16 individuals have been killed in 2014 when a crowd got out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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