Children amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and seven injured, police instructed The Related Press, a surprising improvement at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant girl and many kids.

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

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place greater than 80 million folks reside in poverty, based on authorities statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Company mentioned first responders have been in a position to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to dying and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they might to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency employees treated a number of the injured as they lay within the open field. Movies from the scene showed the clothes, sneakers and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many children” among the many useless. 5 of the useless youngsters were from one mom, he told the AP, including that a pregnant girl also misplaced her life.

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

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

The “Store for Free” occasion was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas not less than 16 folks have been killed in 2014 when a crowd bought out of control throughout a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

—

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