At least 78 people were murdered in a mob surge in Yemen; one victim said, "People sacrificed their lives for just $10."

Dozens of people were killed in a crowd surge in Yemen’s capital on Wednesday as needy residents flocked to receive charity handouts from local merchants during the holy month of Ramadan. Video of the tragedy in Sanaa showed a chaotic scene with dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move and shouting 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 said in the statement. 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. During this time of the month, people start giving away Zakat al-Fitr, or the Zakat of Breaking the Fast of Ramadan, to people in need. Naseh Shaker, a journalist who was at the scene, told CNN that there was a long line of people gathered at the entrance of the school, which was being used for distributing food and financial aid. When officials in charge of the distribution arrived and opened the door, “a lot of people rushed into the school.” Two merchants in charge of the matter were arrested. The head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, ordered an investigation into the incident on Thursday. The Houthi-run General Authority for Zakat announced in a statement that it would give one million Yemeni Riyal (about $4,000) to each family of the crowd surge victims and take care of the treatment of those injured and pay 200,000 Yemeni Riyal (about $800) to each injured person.