At least 51 people were killed and 238 were injured on Tuesday, a Yemeni official said, after a stampede in a Yemeni stadium where President Ali Abdullah Saleh was holding a pre-election rally. Another official, who declined to be named, said people were crushed after the president left the rally and the crowd rushed to get out of the stadium in the southern province of Ibb.A Reuters reporter at the scene said the stadium was very crowded, with people standing on the ground as well as in the stands. Some 150,000 people were inside the building and an even larger number had thronged the streets surrounding it. He saw ambulances and police cars rushing the injured to hospital. "The president promised to compensate the families who lost a relative today. They will receive monthly salaries," said the official, who said 42 had died and more than 80 had been hurt. The other official said later 51 people had been killed and 238 injured.
In Taiz province, 250 km (155 miles) southwest of the capital Sanaa, at least four people were killed and 10 injured on Monday in a stampede at a similar election rally, government officials told Reuters without giving further details. Ibb, which is both the name of the town and the province, is