Stampede in Yemen at Ramadan charity event kills at least 78
The victims were waiting to receive donations of about $9 each in the city of Sanaa.
Tens of people were killed early Thursday morning in Yemen's capital following a stampede at a packed Ramadan charity event. The tragedy was telling of the misery in the war-torn and impoverished country.
Locals gathered to receive cash donations of 5,000 Yemeni riyals ($9) from merchants at a school in Sanaa. When the doors opened, a rush of people moved to enter the building and some of them fell, according to Reuters.
Yemen’s official news agency Saba reported that 78 people were killed. Another 77 suffered from bruises, oxygen deprivation and other injuries, according to the outlet. However, a Houthi official later told Agence France-Presse that 85 were killed and another 322 were injured. The death toll could rise in the coming hours and days.
A graphic video published by Al-Masirah, a news outlet run by the Houthi rebel movement, showed a chaotic scene as people struggled to move through the crowd and among the dead bodies.
