Deadly stampede kills at least 78 in Yemen

Nepal Views

Kathmandu: At least 78 people have been killed in a stampede at a school in the Yemeni capital Sanna, injuring hundreds.

The deadly stampede has claimed at least 78 lives and injured more than 300 people, officials say. The tragic incident happened as hundreds of people crowded into the school during a distribution of charity for Ramadan.

Video footage on social media shows chaotic scenes after the incident in the area of Bab-al city.

Reuters news agency reports that hundreds of people crowded into the school in hope of getting about $10 that was being handed out by merchants to mark the final days of Ramadan.

Those responsible for the distribution have been detained and an investigation is under way, the interior ministry said.

A spokesman for the ministry blamed the crush on the ‘random distribution” of funds without coordination with local officials. Many people were also injured with 13 in a critical situation, a health official in Sanaa said.

‘Women and children were among the dead,’ a Houthi security official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists.

Witnesses Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen told the Associated Press news agency that armed Houthis had fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently hitting an electrical wire, which exploded and caused panic among those waiting.

Footage broadcast by the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV channel showed bodies packed together, with people climbing on top of each other to try and make their way through.

Many had their mouths covered by other people’s hands, the rest of their bodies engulfed by the dense crowd, the footage showed.

Separate photos released by the Houthis, who control the capital, showed bloodstains, shoes and victims’ clothing scattered on the ground.