Over 34 persons have died in early morning stampede at Polo club in Port Harcourt in a crowd for free food and other gifts items.

It was gathered that some of the victims came to the Polo club, the venue for the Shop for Free programme organized by the Kings Assembly Church as early as late hours of Friday and 6 a.m on Saturday for event scheduled to start around 9 a.m.

The dead victims including a pregnant woman and her children among others injured and survivors rushed into the venue immediately people who came to venue around 8 a.m for sporting activities opened the small gate.

“The witness said some of the invitees arrived since Friday while others arrived as early as 6.30am this morning for an event that was supposed to start by 9am.

“The witness said some persons who were supposed to have a sports session arrived at about 8am and opened the small gate which gave the surging crowd an opportunity to force their way in, resulting in the stampede”, DailyTrust report reads.