Youngsters amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people useless and seven injured, police advised The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness stated the useless included a pregnant girl and lots of youngsters.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned people who came to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in keeping with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where greater than 80 million folks live in poverty, in response 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 mentioned. Someway the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Agency mentioned first responders had been able to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to dying and convey them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any assistance they might to emergency staff. Medical doctors and emergency staff treated some of the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, footwear and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many children” among the dead. Five of the dead children have been from one mom, he instructed the AP, adding that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

Some church members had been attacked and injured by family of the victims after the stampede, in keeping with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the scenario.

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

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 in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas at least 16 folks were killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained uncontrolled throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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