Stampede at Christian rally leaves at least 29 dead
Stampede at Christian rally leaves at least 29 dead including 11 children and a pregnant woman after ‘gangsters started attacking worshippers with machetes’ in Liberia
- At least 29 killed, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, at Christian event
- Gangsters allegedly attacked worshippers with machetes, leading to stampede
- The disaster occurred overnight on Wednesday in the Liberian capital, Monrovia
A stampede at a Christian rally in Liberia has left at least 29 people dead including 11 children and a pregnant woman after gangsters allegedly started attacking worshippers with machetes.
The disaster occurred around 9pm on Wednesday night when a gang of thugs armed with knives attacked some of the hundreds attending the ceremony in the Liberian capital Monrovia.
Police spokesman Moses Carter said the death toll was provisional and ‘may increase’, adding that one person, who was carrying a knife, was arrested.
Pictures posted online appeared to be the aftermath of the stampede with dozens of shoes and other belongings piled up against a wall.
The bodies have been taken to the morgue of Redemption Hospital, close to where the incident occurred in a beach area called New Kru Town.
A stampede at a Christian rally in Liberia has left at least 29 people dead including 11 children and a pregnant women after gangsters allegedly started attacking worshippers with machetes (pictured, the aftermath of the stampede on Thursday morning)
Pictures posted online appeared to be the aftermath of the stampede with dozens of shows and other belongings piled up against a wall
The country’s Deputy Information Minister Jalawah Tonpo gave the same death toll, adding that ‘some are on the critical list’ during a call with state radio from a nearby hospital.
‘This is a sad day for the country,’ he added.
The event was organised by an influential pastor but other details about the event remain unclear.
Local media said it was a Christian prayer gathering – known in Liberia as a ‘crusade’ – held in a football field near the beach in New Kru Town.
Witness Emmanuel Gray, 26, told AFP he heard ‘heavy noise’ towards the end and saw several dead bodies.
President George Weah was expected to visit the scene Thursday, according to Liberian media reports.
The disaster (pictured, the aftermath) occurred around 9pm on Wednesday night when a gang of thugs armed with knives attacked some of the hundreds attending the ceremony in the Liberian capital Monrovia
Police spokesman Moses Carter said the death toll was provisional and ‘may increase’, adding that one person, who was carrying a knife, was arrested over the stampede (pictured, the aftermath)
Accidents and disasters are relatively common in Liberia.
A stampede at a similar prayer event in the centre of Liberia in November 2021 killed two infants, and hospitalised several others, according to local media.
Seventeen people were also reported missing after a shipwreck off the country’s coast in July last year.
And about 50 people died in a mine collapse in the northwestern Liberia in May 2020.
Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, is an impoverished country that is still recovering after back-to-back civil wars between 1989-2003, which killed about 250,000 people.
It was also ravaged by the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic.
According to the World Bank, 44 per cent of Liberia’s population lives on less than £1.40 a day.
The UN’s Human Development Index, a barometer of prosperity, ranks Liberia 175th out of 189 countries and territories.
President George Weah (pictured in September 2020) was expected to visit the scene Thursday, according to Liberian media reports
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