Pictures: Church Stampede in Port Harcourt, Kills 31 and Injures Many
A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in Port harcourt, Rivers State left 31 people dead and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. A witness said that one of the dead were a pregnant woman and many children.
The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people who came to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program. Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty.
Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line. Somehow the gates was broken open, creating a stampede. Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said first responders were able to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to death and bring them to the morgue.
One witness who only identified himself as Daniel said “there were so many children” among the dead. Five of the dead children were from one mother, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also lost her life.
Nigeria has seen similar stampedes in the past.
