SANAA—At least 78 people were killed in a stampede in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as residents gathered at a school to receive cash donations distributed by merchants during Ramadan, witnesses and the Houthi administration said on Thursday.
Hundreds of people crowded to receive the alms, which amounted to 5,000 Yemeni riyals, or about $9 per person, two witnesses involved in the rescue effort told Reuters.
“When the door opened, there was a big rush by people wanting to reach the school yard first and some people began falling on the steps leading to the entrance,” one medic said.
Two thirds of the population need help in the war-torn country, which was impoverished even before the conflict erupted eight years ago….