Cairo, 20 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - At least 78 people were killed in a stampede at an aid distribution centre in Yemen's capital Sana'a, a health official with the Houthi rebels said on Thursday.

Dozens of others were injured in the crush late Wednesday, Sana'a health director Mutaher al-Marouni was quoted by the pro-rebel television station al-Massirah as saying.

He added that 13 were in critical condition.

The tragedy resulted from a "haphazard" distribution of cash donations by some merchants without the coordination of authorities or proper organization, Brigadier Abdel-Khaleg al-Aghri, a spokesman with the rebel-run Interior Ministry, said separately.

Two merchants suspected of involvement in the incident were arrested, he added, according to the Houthi-run news agency Saba.

The charity event came as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to an end, to be followed by the Eid al-Fitr festival later this week. 

In videos purporting to show the scenes after the incident, numerous corpses lay lined up on the ground.

The head of the Houthis' self-styled Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, ordered an investigation, Saba reported.

A committee designated for this task arrived at the scene and is to take the necessary steps to determine the exact causes, the agency added.

Sana’a has been under the Houthis’ control since late 2014 after the Iran-aligned rebels seized the city from an internationally recognized government.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition to support the government forces when the Houthis advanced towards the government's temporary seat Aden.

The UN considers Yemen's conflict a humanitarian disaster that has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine.

The war has taken a heavy toll on infrastructure in the country.

Last month, Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran agreed in a China-brokered deal to restore their ties after a rupture of seven years, a step that has raised hopes for an end to years of bloodshed.