Kids amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 folks dead and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a surprising improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the dead included a pregnant woman and plenty of children.

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

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

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Administration Agency said first responders have been in a position to evacuate the our bodies of those trampled to dying and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any help they may to emergency workers. Docs and emergency staff treated a few of the injured as they lay in the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, shoes and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely recognized himself as Daniel stated "there were so many children” among the lifeless. 5 of the lifeless kids have been from one mother, he informed the AP, including that a pregnant woman also misplaced 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 situation.

The police spokeswoman mentioned 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 prior to now.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the very least 16 individuals have been killed in 2014 when a crowd got uncontrolled throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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