At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, just days ahead of Eid al-Fitr festival, according to Houthi officials and media.

The tragedy happened as hundreds crowded into a school in the hope of receiving aid at a charity event in Sanaa.

The crush happened late on Wednesday as hundreds of people crowded into a school in Sanaa in the hope of getting a charitable donation of about $10 that was being handed out by merchants to mark the final days of Ramadan.

Witnesses Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen told the Associated Press news agency that armed Houthis had fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently hitting an electrical wire, which exploded and caused panic among those waiting.

Footage broadcast by the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV channel showed bodies packed together, with people climbing on top of each other to try and make their way through.

Many had their mouths covered by other people’s hands, the rest of their bodies engulfed by the dense crowd, the footage showed.

Separate photos released by the Houthis, who control the capital, showed bloodstains, shoes and victims’ clothing scattered on the ground with investigators were seen examining the area.

The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Interior’s spokesperson Brig Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri described the incident as “tragic” blaming the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.

The two merchants who organised the event had been detained and an investigation was under way, the ministry said. The Houthis announced they would pay some $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative, while the injured would get about $400.

At least 73 of the injured were taken to the al-Thowra Hospital in Sanaa, according to hospital deputy director Hamdan Bagheri, with families rushing to hospitals to try and find their loved ones.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Al Attab, who is in Sanaa, said the disaster had “sparked nationwide anger”.

Sanaa has been under the control of the Houthis since 2014 when they removed the country’s internationally-recognised government.

That led to the intervention of a Saudi-led coalition a year later.

More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed in the conflict, which has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, need assistance and protection, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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