Abuja: The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said on Sunday, with many of the victims collapsing during a crowd surge as people grew desperate for food items.

Ten people, including four children, were killed in a stampede in Nigeria’s capital city as a large crowd gathered to collect food and clothing items distributed by a local church at an annual Christmas event,

In 2022, a stampede at a church charity event in southern Nigeria 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. One witness said the dead included a pregnant woman and many children.

The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

At least 13 people, including four children, were killed in two separate stampedes in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing items distributed at annual Christmas events, the police said Saturday.