The stampede that killed at least 85 people in Sanaa, Yemen, during a charity distribution event is among the deadliest crowd incidents of the past decade.
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Below, a look at the NINE most deadly:
Mecca: 2 300 dead
On September 24, 2015, a massive stampede on the site of the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina near Mecca during the annual pilgrimage caused around 2,300 deaths, the deadliest disaster in the hajj’s history.
Iran, which said 464 of its pilgrims were killed, accused Saudi Arabia of failing to organise the event properly.
Some pilgrims blamed the stampede on the closure of a road near the stoning site, claiming security forces mismanaged the flow of worshippers.
South Korea: More than 150 dead
On the night of October 29, 2022, more than 150 people were killed in a crush in Seoul during a Halloween party with several thousand participants in the narrow streets of a neighbourhood in the South Korean capital.
Indonesia: 135 dead
On October 1, 2022, a stampede in a football stadium in Malang, East Java, killed 135 people, including more than 40 children.
Police had tried to fend off fans with tear gas and many panic-stricken victims were crushed or suffocated while trying to use closed or narrow exit doors.
A police officer and two match officials have been jailed for 12-18 months over the disaster.
India: At least 115 dead
On October 13, 2013, a stampede on the sidelines of a religious festival near a temple in the Datia district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh left at least 115 people dead, mostly trampled or drowned, and more than 110 injured.
At the time of the accident, some 20,000 people were on a bridge over the Sindh River.
According to local authorities, a rumour about a possible collapse of the bridge caused the stampede.
Yemen: At least 85 dead
On April 20, 2023, more than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in a stampede at a charity distribution event in war-torn Yemen.
The incident took place inside a school where cash was being distributed.
Hundreds of people in the poverty-hit country had gathered to receive 5,000 Yemeni riyals (around $8).
Iran: 56 dead
On January 7, 2020, a stampede in Kerman in Iran’s southeast during the funeral of General Qasem Soleimani, which was attended by a huge crowd, resulted in 56 deaths.
The widely venerated general was killed on January 3 by a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport.
Ethiopia: At least 52 dead
On October 2, 2016, at least 52 people died, according to authorities – at least 100, according to the opposition – in a crowd surge in Bishoftu, 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.
Clashes erupted between crowds and police during the traditional Oromo Irreecha festival that marks the end of the rainy season, causing the stampede.
Tanzania: 45 dead
On March 21, 2021, 45 people died in a stampede at a stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s economic capital, where a tribute to late president John Magufuli was being held.
Israel: 45 dead
On April 30, 2021, a stampede during the Jewish holiday pilgrimage from Lag Ba’omer to Mount Meron in northern Israel killed at least 45 people, darkening the largest gathering in the country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
