Children amongst 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and 7 injured, police instructed The Related Press, a surprising development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness said the lifeless included a pregnant lady and many kids.

The stampede at the occasion 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, in keeping with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, where more than 80 million people dwell in poverty, in keeping with authorities statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Company mentioned first responders were able to evacuate the our bodies of those trampled to dying and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any help they might to emergency workers. Doctors and emergency workers handled among the injured as they lay in the open discipline. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, shoes and other items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many kids” among the many dead. 5 of the dead children had been from one mom, he instructed the AP, adding that a pregnant woman additionally misplaced her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by kinfolk of the victims after the stampede, in line with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the state of affairs.

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

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while no less than 16 folks had been killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained uncontrolled during a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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