More than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush at a charity distribution event in Yemen on Thursday.

The latest tragedy to strike the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country came days ahead of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday celebrated around the world by feasting to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Hundreds of people in the poverty-hit country had gathered at a school in capital Sanaa to receive cash handouts of 5,000 Yemeni Rials (around $8).

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

"Women and children were among the dead," he told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A second health official confirmed the toll.

The interior ministry said the dead and injured have been relocated to hospitals, and those responsible for the event arrested.

Video broadcast by Al Masirah TV channel showed a cluster of bodies packed together, with people climbing on top of each other to try to make their way through.

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

Armed men in military garb and distribution workers screamed at the crowd to turn back as they tried to pull people out of the crush.