At least 78 people were killed in a crush at a school in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during a distribution of charity for Ramadan.
Video footage on social media shows chaotic scenes after the incident in the Bab-al-Yemen area of the city. Hundreds of people crowded into the school to receive donations which amounted to about $9 (£7) per person, reports BBC.
Those responsible for the distribution have been detained and an investigation is under way, the interior ministry said.
A spokesman for the ministry blamed the crush on the "random distribution" of funds without coordination with local officials.
Many people were also injured with 13 in a critical situation, a health official in Sanaa said.
"Women and children were among the dead," a Houthi security official told AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity.
The Associated Press news agency quotes two eyewitnesses who said Houthi fighters had fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire which resulted in an explosion. This caused panic that led to the crush, they added.
Yemen has been devastated by the conflict that escalated in 2015, when the Houthis seized control of large parts of the west of the country.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
