Almost 80 die in Ramadan crush in Yemen’s capital Sanaa
April 20, 2023 –BBC News –At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during a distribution of charity for Ramadan, officials say.
TV footage shows a crowd of people unable to move and many in distress in the Bab al-Yemen area of the city.
Hundreds of people reportedly crowded into Maeen School late on Wednesday to receive donations amounting to about $9 (£7; €8) per person.
The rebel Houthi movement has controlled Sanaa since 2015.
Video posted on social media shows people screaming with dozens of bodies on the ground, some of which are not moving. Other people are seen trying to help.
Two local businessmen who arranged the event had been arrested and an investigation was under way, the interior ministry said.
A spokesman for the ministry blamed the crush on the “random distribution” of funds without co-ordination with local officials.
