Over forty people were killed during a charity event in the city of Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria | Many people came to a place where a charity distributed food to needy families. “People were impatient which led to an eruption that caused them to be crushed to death”
A catastrophic disaster in Nigeria, hundreds of people came to get food destined for needy families last Saturday, they broke through a gate and were crushed to death, said Grace Iring-Koko, a Rivers State Police spokeswoman where the disaster occurred.
Many of the people stood in line from last Friday to get access to the annual “Buy for Free” charity program organized by a local church.
“People were there too early, and some were impatient and started rushing, which led to an outburst that caused them to be crushed to death, the police are on the ground and monitoring the situation while the investigation continues,” a police spokeswoman told Reuters. A police spokeswoman said at least 40 were killed and seven others were injured. A police spokesman said that an investigation had been opened and the results of the investigation would be published at the end of the investigation.
Up to 40 dead in horror church stampede as families crushed to death in Nigeriahttps://t.co/qHLACza9Uj pic.twitter.com/3vZ6u3jh8I
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The many shoes of the dead
According to local reports, shoes and sandals were thrown on the ground as people tried to forcefully enter the event, “unfortunately, the crowd became violent and got out of control and all efforts made by the organizers to bring calm were unsuccessful.” Eyewitnesses said that “a large crowd from outside entered the building through a narrow gate, and as a result they were crushed.” Despite its oil wealth, four out of 10 Nigerians live below the national poverty nest. This is according to the World Bank.