At least 17 people have been killed and dozens seriously injured after an explosion at a fuel station in Yemen, health authorities have said.
There are believed to be at least 91 victims of the blast in Yemen’s southwestern al-Bayda province on Saturday, the Houthi-run health ministry said.
Of those injured, more than 50 people are reported to be in a critical condition, with rescue teams continuing to search for those reported missing.
“We extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the families and relatives of the victims of the painful accident that occurred as a result of the explosion of gas stations in the village of Al-Majrish,” the ministry said in a statement.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, but footage circulating online showing a huge fire which sent columns of black smoke into the sky and left charred vehicles smouldering nearby.
Bayda is controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognised government for more than a decade, in a civil war that has left more than 150,000 people dead and sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Elsewhere in the province, the Houthis fatally attacked and looted Hanaka al-Masoud village in the al-Qurayshiya district last week, the internationally-recognised government alleged.
“This horrific attack targeted citizens’ homes and mosques, and resulted in many casualties, including women and children, and the destruction of property,” said information minister Moammar al-Eryani, alleging that the attack came after a week-long seige of the village.
A large fire and plume of smoke is visible in the port city of Hodeida on 29 September 2024, after Israeli strikes on the Houthi-controlled city (AP Photo)
Rights activist Riyadh al-Dubai said the Houthis detained dozens of men and looted homes, seizing valuables such as gold, money, daggers and other possessions. He said shelling by the Houthis had continued relentlessly day and night for more than five days.
The US Embassy in Yemen condemned the attack, saying in a statement that the “deaths, injuries, and wrongful detentions of innocent Yemenis perpetrated by Houthi terrorists are depriving the Yemeni people of peace and a brighter future”.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when the rebels took control of the capital Sanaa and much of the country’s north, forcing the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, in an effort to restore the internationally recognised government.
Saturday’s blast also came a day after Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile strikes against Israel. The Houthis have been regularly striking at ships in the Red Sea since the start of the war on their allies Hamas in Gaza.
Pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthi militia were “paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us”.
The strikes hit the ports of Ras Issa and Hodeidah, as well as the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while the Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack, according to Al Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run news outlet.
The Israeli military said more than 20 aircraft took part in the attack, dropping around 50 bombs and missiles.
Additional reporting by agencies
