Yemen stampede during charity distribution kills dozens

At least 85 people were killed and over 300 injured in a crush at a charity distribution event in war-torn Yemen on Thursday, Huthi officials said, one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade.

The latest tragedy to strike the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country came days ahead of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday celebrated around the world by feasting to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Hundreds of people in the poverty-hit country had gathered at a school in the capital Sanaa to receive cash handouts of 5,000 Yemeni Rials (around $8).

At least "85 were killed and more than 322 were injured" in the stampede in the Bab al-Yemen district of the capital, a Huthi security official said, adding that around 50 were in a serious condition.

"Women and children were among the dead," he told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media. A second health official confirmed the toll.

The Huthi-run interior ministry said the dead and injured have been relocated to hospitals, and those responsible for the event arrested.

Video broadcast by Al Masirah TV channel showed a cluster of bodies packed together, with people climbing on top of each other to try to make their way through.

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

Armed men in military dress and distribution workers screamed at the crowd to turn back as they tried to pull people out of the crush.

According to the head of the Huthis' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohamed Ali al-Huthi, "overcrowding" caused the stampede.

People were packed in a narrow street leading to the school's back entrance, he said.

Once the gates opened,...