Youngsters 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 advised The Associated Press, a surprising improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness said the useless included a pregnant lady and lots of children.

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

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

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Company mentioned first responders were able to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to death and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they could to emergency workers. Docs and emergency staff handled a few of the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, footwear and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely recognized himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many kids” among the many useless. Five of the dead children had been from one mother, he instructed the AP, including that a pregnant girl additionally misplaced her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by relations of the victims after the stampede, in response to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the state of affairs.

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured have been “responding to therapy."

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while not less than 16 folks have been killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired uncontrolled during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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