Over 78 residents were killed in a stampede in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Thursday, as hundreds gathered in a school to get supplies.

According to Al Masirah TV, a local news publication run by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which cited Sanaa's head of health, several people were injured, with 13 in critical condition.

 A statement made by the Houthi-controlled Ministry of Interior notes that the stampede happened during the distribution of charitable contributions by merchants in the final days of Ramadan.

PHOTO | COURTESY Yemen stampede


Two witnesses at the scene of the incident involved in the rescue attempt said that hundreds of people went into a school to receive the donations, totalling 5,000 Yemeni riyals, or approximately $9 per person.

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Houthi television shared a video on the Telegram messaging app showing many people crammed together, some screaming and shouting and reaching out for help to be pulled to safety. Security personnel tried to push people back and keep the mob under control.

Following the stampede, another video showed several discarded shoes, a crutch, and pieces of clothing on the building's steps and forensic investigators in protective white suits searching through personal possessions.

According to the interior ministry, the two merchants in charge of organizing the donation event had been detained, and an inquiry was ongoing.

Yemen has been mired in an eight-year civil conflict that has killed tens of thousands, destroyed the economy, and forced millions to starve.

PHOTO | COURTESY Yemen stampede

After the Houthis overthrew the government in the capital Sanaa in 2014, a Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015. The dispute has been widely interpreted as a proxy fight between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The stampede was triggered by Yemenis witnessing the worst worldwide humanitarian crisis after eight years of fighting, according to Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, president of the Houthi supreme revolutionary committee.

Mohamed Ali al-Houthi stated on Twitter that they hold the aggressor countries liable for what happened and the harsh reality that the Yemeni people face as a result of the aggression and embargo.