AT LEAST eight people were killed and 170 injured as a fire ripped through an immigration centre in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the United Nations migration agency said today.

The total death toll from the blaze on Sunday could be higher, with 90 people in a serious condition, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) regional director Carmela Godeau said.

The centre provides shelter for 700 people and is operated by the Houthi rebels, who overthrew the Yemeni government in 2014.

The cause of the fire, which broke out in a hangar close to the main building, was not known but investigations were under way. Civil-defence teams had managed to get the fire under control, the Houthis said.

Yemen has been subjected to six years of bombing by a Saudi-led coalition. According to the UN this has resulted in at least 80 per cent of the population becoming reliant on humanitarian aid.

On Sunday Saudi air strikes hit targets in the Yemeni capital and other provinces in what it said was a response to Houthi drone attacks.

Saudi missiles have previously struck schools, hospitals and wedding parties; the UN’s human rights council has accused all participants of committing acts that could amount to war crimes.