Gunshots, Electrical Sparks: What Led To Yemen Stampede That Killed 85

At least 85 people were killed in a stampede during a charity event at a school in Yemen's capital Sanaa. Hundreds had gathered at the school to receive a donation of 5,000 Yemeni riyals (Rs 1,642) each, reports news agency Reuters quoting eyewitnesses.

The stampede took place during the distribution of charitable donations by merchants in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan.

Eyewitnesses said armed Houthis shot in the air in an attempt to control the crowd, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode. That sparked panic and people began stampeding.

At least "85 were killed and more than 322 were injured" after the stampede in the Bab al-Yemen district of the capital, a Houthi official said.

Footage aired on Al Masirah TV showed corpses strewn across the complex, which was littered with sandals and scraps of clothes after the area was cleared.

The school has been sealed off and even families have been barred from entering the school. An AFP correspondent in Sanaa also saw large crowds descend on a hospital entrance.

More than eight years of civil war in Yemen has unleashed what the United Nations describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies.

The conflict began in 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year to prop up the internationally recognised government.

Fighting has eased dramatically since the six-month, UN-brokered truce last year, even after it expired in October.