Scores of people were killed or injured in a stampede that broke out during a charity distribution at a school in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, just days before the Eid al-Fitr festival.
Sanaa-based health officials told AFP on Thursday that at least 85 were killed and 322 were injured following the incident in the Bab al-Yemen area of Sana’a on Wednesday night.
The crush happened late on Wednesday as hundreds of people crowded into the school in the hope of getting a charitable donation of about $10 that was being handed out by merchants to mark the final days of Ramadan.
Previous figures put the death toll at 78, with authorities in Sanaa calling for an investigation into the incident.
The interior ministry statement said the dead and injured have been moved to nearby hospitals and those responsible for the distribution were taken into custody, according to the Saba news agency.
A video posted by Al-Massirah TV on its Telegram messaging app showed a crowd of people jammed together, some screaming and shouting and reaching out to be pulled to safety. Security staff fought to push people back and control the crowd.
Source: Press TV
