Panic erupted when some shopkeepers began handing out cash to the poor in the capital Sana, a spokesman for the Houthi rebels said late Thursday.

Traders were behind an event that was not coordinated with local authorities. They distributed money to several hundred poor people who showed up in the Bab al-Yemen neighborhood of Sanaa’s Old City. This is according to the Houthi-controlled interior ministry.

The event took place inside a school building.

– At least 85 people lost their lives and more than 322 were injured, a Houthi official told French news agency AFP.

– Women and children were among the dead, he told the news agency.

The figures are confirmed by spokespersons for the health system.

Eyewitnesses Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen said armed Houthi soldiers fired into the air in an attempt to gain control of the crowd. Shots reportedly hit a power line which exploded. This sparked panic and people started running and stomping, eyewitnesses say.

The Houthis say two organizers of the distribution have been arrested and the incident is currently under investigation.

Yemen’s capital is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which ousted the internationally recognized government from power in 2014. The following year, Saudi Arabia deployed forces in cooperation with other countries to attempt to restore governance.

The conflict has since escalated into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. More than 150,000 people, combatants and civilians, have been killed in those years in what the UN calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. (© NTB)