At least 78 killed in stampede in Yemen’s capital, dozens more injured

The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sanaa when hundreds of poor people gathered at an event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.

A crowd of people apparently spooked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid in Yemen’s capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 and injuring at least 73 others, according to eyewitnesses and Houthi rebel officials.

Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen, who witnessed the scene, said armed Houthis had fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.

Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies on the ground, some motionless and others screaming as people tried to help.

The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sanaa, where hundreds of poor people gathered for the event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.

The ministry’s spokesman, Brig. Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, blamed the crush on the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities. The tragedy came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month Ramadan later this week.

Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official in Sanaa, gave the death toll of 78 and said at least 13 were seriously hurt, according the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite TV channel.

Hamdan Bagheri, deputy director of the al-Thowra Hospital in Sanaa, said in televised comments that the tragedy took place around 8.20 p.m. and the facility received at least 73 injured people.

The rebels quickly sealed off the school where the event was held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.