Children among 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 7 injured, police informed The Related Press, a surprising growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant girl and plenty of kids.

The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned people who got here to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place more than 80 million people live in poverty, according to government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. however dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko stated. In some way the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Agency mentioned first responders had been capable of evacuate the bodies of those trampled to demise and bring them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they might to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open discipline. Videos from the scene showed the clothes, sneakers and different objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely recognized himself as Daniel mentioned "there were so many kids” among the many lifeless. 5 of the dead kids have been from one mother, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman additionally lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by kin of the victims after the stampede, in keeping with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the situation.

The police spokeswoman mentioned the seven injured had been “responding to remedy."

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while not less than 16 people had been killed in 2014 when a crowd received out of control throughout a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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