CATHOLIC PROCESSION TRAGEDY: 2 WOMEN DIE, MANY INJURED OTHERS FAINTED
First and foremost, I want to congratulate all the winners of last week neighborhood reporters. @suryati1, @joan-na and @woka-happiness, your coming out tops show your painstaking efforts in reporting events that happened within your neighborhood. Neighborhood reporting is a away to make people to be conscious of their environment take safety measures in a chaotic situation. Furthermore, when the benevolent actions of people, businesses and government are reported, it could inspire or motivate people to make conscious efforts in contributing to make the society a better place.
Finally on this note, I appreciate the host of this regular contest @xkool24, for thinking out the neighborhood reporting. The idea contributes in growing community members as their efforts made by reporting events, are rewarded.
I now go straight to participate in this contest as I present my neighborhood reports.
On Sunday 24 November 2024, tragedy occurred during the 2024 Catholic annual procession at CKC ABA in Abia state. An eyewitness account has it that two persons involving aged women were on the said date, died as a result of the suffocation during the overcrowded event. The event had an overwhelming crowd as all buildings including book shops, event halls, were all filled up with people with no breathing spaces left for air circulation. The overcrowd were also seen stretching to the gates, open environment and security posts.
In the course of the gathering, two women slumped and were quickly rushed to an undisclosed private hospital in the city and later died. Also seen in the environment were many people including children, slumped and others fainting in the heavily overcrowded environment. Children got missing their back to home and even the adults could not trace their way back because of the heavy crowd.
With this sad occurrence, one may now begin to question if there was crowd control measures put in place for the event. But from the outcome the event so far, one would not be mistaken to say that there is no measures put in place to control the overcrowded event. If measures were put in place, I think it would not have gotten to that extent. Events such as this, requires putting appropriate measures that could forestall stampeding which may lead to loss of lives and sustaining injuries or fainting during events. Some of the crowd control measures that should have been taken include:
Traffic flow management
Adequate Planning and preparation for the event
Security and communication
First Aid for emergency situations
Setting barriers or segmentation.
These are some of the measures that could have been put in place before the event takes place.
It is also sad to note that an eyewitness stated that it was only one entrance left open for the huge crowd entrance and exit. This also contributed to the sad outcome from the event. One would now question why only one entrance should be left open for entry and exit when an event that commands huge is organized? The security officers should noticed this and leave other entrances open for free flow of traffic within the environment.
Finally, I hope lessons have been learnt from this sad occurrence and then the Catholic diocese would take appropriate crowd control measures when organizing such events.
I invite the following persons to join the contest:
@eliany
@basil20
@etette
😳 WOW, it's not indeed a tragedy, may there soul rest in peace 🙏
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