Abuja, May 28 (AP) A stampede Saturday at a church charity sale in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead, police said, a shocking development at an event that organisers said aimed to "offer hope" to the needy.

The stampede at the programme organised by the Kings Assembly pentecostal church in Rivers state involved many people who were seeking assistance, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokesperson in the state.

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Many of the victims came to benefit from an annual “Shop for Free” charity programme organised by the church. Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty, according to government statistics.

Saturday's charity programme was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko told The Associated Press.

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Somehow they broke open the locked gate, she said, noting that in addition to the deaths, seven other people were injured but “responding to treatment.”

Videos from the scene showed the clothing and shoes meant for the beneficiaries. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field.

The “Shop for Free” event was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)