See VIDEO as at least 78 die in Yemen crowd surge as hundreds of hungry citizens rush to receive $9 during Ramadan charity event

Dozens of people were killed in a crowd surge in Yemen’s capital on Wednesday, April 19 as hungry residents in the war-torn nation flocked to receive charity handouts from local merchants during the holy month of Ramadan, government officials have confirmed.

 

Video of the tragedy in Sanaa town showed a chaotic scene with dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move and shouting for help as the stampede occurred when they rushed to collect the money.

Those trapped in the surge formed a tangled wall of bodies with some desperately stretching out their arms for help. A couple of men who were freed could then be seen attempting to pull others out of the deadly crush. Images from the aftermath showed shoes and slippers heaped into piles as well as scarfs strewn on the floor.

 

“What happened tonight is a tragic and painful accident, as dozens of people were killed due to a large stampede of a number of citizens caused by a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants and without coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” the spokesman of the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior, Abdul-Khaleq al-Ajri, said in the statement.

At least 78 people were killed in the crush and dozens injured, Mutahar al-Marouni, the director of the Houthi-run Health office in Sanaa, told the Houthi-run Al-Masirah news agency.

According to Reuters, hundreds of people had crowded into a school to receive donations of about $9.

 

The incident came just a few days ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Yemen has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nine years of war have killed thousands, destroyed the economy and left 21.6 million people two-thirds of the country’s population in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. 

 

Watch the video below …