SANAA, Sept 12: More than 50 people were crushed to death in a stampede on Tuesday at an overcrowded stadium in southern Yemen during an election rally by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a week ahead of polls already marred by violence.

The stampede occurred when tens of thousands of people tried to gain entry into the sports stadium at the town of Ibb which was already crammed with some 100,000 rallygoers, witnesses said.

“More than 50 people have been killed and over 100 injured,” a senior security official said.

The stampede at Ibb, around 180 kilometres south of Sanaa, began minutes after Saleh had finished an election speech as part of his campaigning for the Sept 20 presidential and local polls.—AFP