Upstream | November 22, 2010 | 41 comments

At least 378 Die in Stampede at Cambodia Water Festival

Cambodia has declared Thursday a national day of mourning after at least 378 people were killed in a stampede in the capital, Phnom Penh.

Hundreds more were injured when people were crushed on a small island on the final day of the Water Festival.

The stampede took place on a bridge, which eyewitnesses said had become overcrowded.

Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered an investigation into the cause of the disaster.

*Note above update added by Current.com staff

180 die in stampede at Cambodia festival http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/22/more-than-100-killed-in-cambodia-festival-stampede/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1 November 22nd, 2010 02:23 PM ET Cambodian prime minister: 339 dead in stampede A stampede occurred during a water festival in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. [Updated at 2:26 p.m.] Ambulances appeared to be making runs back and forth between the scene of the stampede and the hospital - dropping off the injured and then speeding away again, video on state-run Bayon Television showed. Doctors stood outside a hospital, trying to direct traffic, between ambulances and vehicles of regular citizens bringing in the injured. Friends and family clutched some the injured already in the hospital while others raced from the streets clutching the injured in the arms. [Updated at 2:23 p.m.] Video from state-run Bayon Television in Cambodia showed panic in the streets and outside local hospitals. Dozens of injured people appeared to be laying on what appeared to be the waiting room floor of a hospital with IV lines hooked up to them that were strung across benches. [Updated at 2:04 p.m.] Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday on state-run Bayon Television that 180 people have died in the water festival stampede. More than 4 million people were attending the Water Festival when the stampede occurred, said Visalsok Nou, a Cambodian Embassy official in Washington. [Posted at 1:55 p.m.] More than 100 people were killed Monday in a stampede that occurred during a festival near Cambodia's royal palace in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian Embassy official in Washington said. This story is developing. We'll bring you the latest information as soon as we get it. _____________________________ NEW PHOTOS JUST IN FROM BBC NEWS: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11814045 _____________________________ (CNN) -- A stampede that occurred during a festival in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh has killed 339 people, officials said Monday. Another 329 people were injured in the crush, said Philip Bader, a news editor with the Phnom Penh Post, citing information given by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a televised address. Visalsok Nou, a Cambodian Embassy official in Washington, said more than 4 million people were attending the Water Festival when the stampede occurred. But other reports put the number at 2 million., said Steve Finch, a journalist with the Phnom Penh Post. The municipal police chief said that the stampede, which began around 10 p.m. (10 a.m. ET), likely occurred because a suspension bridge packed with people began to sway, creating panic, said Bader, who cited reports of people jumping from the bridge into the river below. Finch said police began firing water cannon onto a bridge to an island in the center of a river in an effort to get them to continue moving across the bridge. "That just caused complete and utter panic," he told CNN in a telephone interview. He said a number of people lost consciousness and fell into the water; some may have been electrocuted, he said. Finch cited witnesses as saying that the bridge was festooned with electric lights, which may have played a role in the electrocutions. The government denied anyone was electrocuted. But a doctor who declined to be identified publicly said the main cause of death was suffocation and electrocution. Police were among the dead, Finch said. Officers with the prime minister's security unit stood outside a hospital trying to help those arriving with injured people and to control the scene of chaos. In one case at a hospital, relatives of a woman who had been confirmed dead discovered she still had a pulse and she was taken into the emergency room. It was not clear whether she survived, Finch said. Video of the scene showed hundreds of shoes, clothing and other personal items littering the streets, the bridge and the underlying water near where the festival took place. Ambulances dropped off the injured at area hospitals and then sped away, video on Bayon Television showed. Outside one hospital, doctors stood trying to direct traffic so that ambulances and vehicles carrying injured were able to get through. Dozens of people could be seen laying on what appeared to be the waiting-room floor of a hospital. They were attached to intravenous lines connected to bags strung along wires suspended in the air. The prime minister ordered an inquiry into the cause of the day's events and declared Wednesday a day of mourning. The three-day festival, which began Saturday, is held each November near the palace to honor a victory by Cambodian naval forces during the 12th century reign of King Jayvarman VII, according to the country's tourism website. During the festival, which includes boat races, participants pray for a good rice harvest, enough rain and to celebrate the full moon, the site says.

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41 comments // At least 378 Die in Stampede at Cambodia Water Festival

  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  

    • I want it totally understood by everyone who gets down this far that in my headline, one of the things I strongly EMPHASIZED in my carefully-composed headline was the fact that the photos and videos were GRAPHIC!

      Someone has removed what I felt was a necessary warning, especially since I'd originally forgotten to add that until a kind person nicely reminded me.

      What the HELL is going on, folks?!?!?!

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  

    • I'm mightily confused how -- and WHY -- the headline for my submission(s), that I'd so carefully written, has been changed. What's THAT all about, eh?!

      And now I'm discovering, as well, that my text has also been altered.

      This sure doesn't seem right...

    • 1 year ago
  • XasthurNortt
  • fun_size
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      fun_size  

    • Such a sad story and meaningless waste of life. Reminds me of a quote spoken by Tommy Lee Jones in the film Men in Black "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals..."

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • http://www.3news.co.nz/Cambodia-Festival-stampede-kills-at-least-345-PHOTOS/tabi...

      Cambodia: Festival stampede kills at least 345 (PHOTOS)

      Cambodia has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands (Reuters)

      Tue, 23 Nov 2010 8:36a.m.

      VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE FESTIVAL STAMPEDE IN CAMBODIA

      By Sopheng Cheang

      Thousands of people stampeded during a festival in the Cambodian capital, leaving at least 345 dead and hundreds injured. The prime minister is calling it the country's biggest tragedy since the 1970s reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge.

      Some in the panicky crowd - who were celebrating the end of the rainy season on an island in a river - tried to flee over a bridge and were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water. A witness who arrived shortly after the stampede Monday night (local time) described "bodies stacked on bodies" on the bridge as rescuers swarmed the area.

      Ambulances raced back and forth between the river and the hospitals for several hours after the stampede. Calmette Hospital, the capital's main medical facility, was filled to capacity with bodies as well as patients, some of whom had to be treated in hallways. Many of the injured appeared to be badly hurt, raising the prospect that the death toll could rise as local hospitals became overwhelmed.

      Hours after the chaos, the dead and injured were still being taken away from the scene, while searchers looked for bodies of anyone who might have drowned. An Associated Press reporter saw one body floating in the river, and hundreds of shoes left behind on and around the bridge.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen, speaking Tuesday morning, said that 345 people had been killed and more than 320 injured.

      "This is the biggest tragedy we have experienced in the last 31 years, since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime," he said, referring to the ultra-communist movement whose radical policies are blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people during the 1970s.

      He ordered an investigation into the cause of the stampede and declared Thursday would be a national day of mourning. Government ministries were ordered to fly the flag at half-staff. He said that the government would pay the families of each dead victim 5 million riel (US$1,250) for funeral expenses and provide 1 million riel (US$250) for each injured person.

      Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, the Bon Om Touk, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river. In this year's event, 420 of the long, sleek boats competed, with crews of up to 80 racers each.

      The last race ended early Monday evening, the last night of the holiday, and the panic started later on Koh Pich - Diamond Island - a long spit of land wedged in a fork in the river where a concert and exhibition were being held. It was unclear how many people were on the island to celebrate the holiday, though the area appeared to be packed with people, as were the banks.

      Soft drink vendor So Cheata said the trouble began when about 10 people fell unconscious in the press of the crowd. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede, with many people caught underfoot.

      Information Minister Khieu Kanharith gave a similar account of the cause.

      Seeking to escape the island, part of the crowd pushed onto a bridge, which also jammed up, with people falling under others and into the water. So Cheata said hundreds of hurt people lay on the ground afterward. Many appeared to be unconscious.

      Philip Heijmans, a 27-year-old photographer from Brooklyn, New York, who arrived at the scene half-an-hour after the stampede, walked up the bridge to see hundreds of shoes and pieces of clothing, then a body, then more "bodies stacked on bodies."

      He counted about 40 in all, with about 200 rescuers in the area. Some Australian firefighters were on the scene- it wasn't clear why they were in town - who were checking pulses before loading bodies into vans.

      Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands. Hun Sen called on foreign investors and tourists not to shun the country because of the accident.

      Koh Pich used to host a slum community, but in recent years the poor have been evicted to make way for high-rise and commercial development, most yet to be realised.

      AP

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • derk
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      derk  

    • The three-day festival attracts people from all over Cambodia - and around the world - to the Royal palace. The festival is held annually to commemorate a victory by the Cambodian naval forces during the 12th century reign of King Jayvarman VII, according to the Tourism Cambodia website.

      The festival is also used to pray for a good rice harvest, sufficient rain and to celebrate the full moon, the site says. The festival dates back to before the 7th century.

    • 1 year ago
  • moodyblue
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      moodyblue  

    • Tragic and very, very sad. Im not trying to be a bitch but the pictures of the deceased are a little much. I appreciate the updates and the links but the pictures.. not so much.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • moodyblue
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
    • moodyblue:

      moodyblue, guess WHAT?!?!

      Today, I realized that someone (?) has re-written and CUT my headline, and changed text within my additional submissions, as well.

      In case you don't see it, here's what I just wrote and, yes, I'm bugged:

      _____________________

      "I want it totally understood by everyone who gets down this far that in my headline, one of the things I strongly EMPHASIZED in my carefully-composed headline was the fact that the photos and videos were GRAPHIC!

      "Someone has removed what I felt was a necessary warning, especially since I'd originally forgotten to add that until a kind person nicely reminded me.

      "What the HELL is going on, folks?!?!?!"

    • 1 year ago
  • TomTucker
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • http://www.france24.com/en/20101122-deadly-stampede-water-festival-phnom-penh-ca...

      FRANCE 24...

      Latest update: 22/11/2010
      - accident - Cambodia

      Hundreds dead in stampede at Phnom Penh water festival

      A stampede during an annual water festival in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Monday left at least 339 people dead, according to state TV reports, and the toll is likely to rise. More than two million people are taking part in the festival.

      By FRANCE 24 (with wires) (text)

      A stampede during an annual water festival in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Monday left at least 339 people dead, state television reported.

      "This is the biggest tragedy since the Pol Pot regime," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a live television broadcast, referring to the leader of the brutal regime that ruled between 1975 and 1979.

      The panic started on Koh Pich -- Diamond Island -- a long spit of land in the river where a concert was being held. Soft drink vendor So Cheata said the trouble began when about 10 people fell unconscious in the press of the crowd. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede, with many people caught underfoot.
      Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith gave a similar account of the cause.
      Part of the crowd pushed onto a bridge, which also jammed up, with people falling under others and off the bridge. Hundreds of hurt people lay on the ground afterward.

      Ambulances raced back and forth the river to the hospital for several hours after the stampede, while onlookers and relatives waited outside. The hospital was closed to outsiders, including the press.
      Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the Tonle Sap river. Monday night marked the end of the holiday.
      Cambodia is one of the region’s poorer countries, and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://bigrooster.amplify.com/2010/11/22/reuters-at-least-339-dead-after-stamped...

      Reuters: At least 339 dead after stampede in Cambodia
      Nov 22, 2010 3:34pm by Rafael de Haan

      (Reuters) - A stampede on a bridge in Cambodia's capital killed at least 339 people late Monday and wounded nearly as many after thousands panicked on the last day of a water festival, authorities and state media said.
      Amplify’d from www.reuters.com

      By Prak Chan Thul

      PHNOM PENH | Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:16pm EST

      PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A stampede on a bridge in Cambodia's capital killed at least 339 people late Monday and wounded nearly as many after thousands panicked on the last day of a water festival, authorities and state media said.

      Witnesses said the stampede began after several people were electrocuted on a small bridge connecting Phnom Penh to nearby Diamond Island. Most either drowned in a tributary of the Tonle Sap lake or were trampled to death, authorities said.

      State television said at least 240 of the dead were women, citing reports from two hospitals.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen apologized for the disaster and ordered an investigation as television footage showed relatives crying over the bodies of the dead piled up on each other.

      "This is the biggest tragedy in more than 31 years after the Pol Pot regime," he said, referring to the murderous Khmer Rouge regime whose agrarian revolution in 1975 killed an estimated 1.7 million people in Cambodia under the command of Pol Pot.

      Hun Sen urged the country to remain calm and ruled out terrorism as a cause for the catastrophe, which took place on the third and final day of the Bon Om Touk water festival.

      "It needs further investigation," he said.

      Diamond Island, a small island owned by a local bank, is equipped with newly built conference and exhibition centers, restaurants and entertainment areas.

      It is popular among women shoppers, especially during the water festival when retailers offer discounts on clothing and other goods. Many of the victims had attended a concert and were returning home to the city when the stampede started.

      Phnom Penh police chief Touch Narouth told Reuters that "many people had died in the festival" but declined to elaborate during a rescue effort that went on into early Tuesday.

      (Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Martin Petty)

      Witnesses said the stampede began after several people were electrocuted on a small bridge connecting Phnom Penh to nearby Diamond Island. Most either drowned in a tributary of the Tonle Sap lake or were trampled to death, authorities said.

      State television said at least 240 of the dead were women, citing reports from two hospitals.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen apologized for the disaster and ordered an investigation as television footage showed relatives crying over the bodies of the dead piled up on each other.

      "This is the biggest tragedy in more than 31 years after the Pol Pot regime," he said, referring to the murderous Khmer Rouge regime whose agrarian revolution in 1975 killed an estimated 1.7 million people in Cambodia under the command of Pol Pot.

      Hun Sen urged the country to remain calm and ruled out terrorism as a cause for the catastrophe, which took place on the third and final day of the Bon Om Touk water festival.

      "It needs further investigation," he said.

      Diamond Island, a small island owned by a local bank, is equipped with newly built conference and exhibition centers, restaurants and entertainment areas.

      It is popular among women shoppers, especially during the water festival when retailers offer discounts on clothing and other goods. Many of the victims had attended a concert and were returning home to the city when the stampede started.

      Phnom Penh police chief Touch Narouth told Reuters that "many people had died in the festival" but declined to elaborate during a rescue effort that went on into early Tuesday.

      (Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Martin Petty)
      World

      By Prak Chan Thul

      PHNOM PENH | Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:16pm EST

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40318112/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

      Hundreds die in Cambodia festival stampede
      Most of the victims were crushed or drowned; hundreds more injured

      Image: Cambodian's stampede
      Heng Sinith / AP

      A crowd of Cambodians are pushed onto a bridge on the last day of celebrations of a water festival in Phnom Penh on Monday. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing at least 190.

      By SOPHENG CHEANG
      The Associated Press
      updated 21 minutes ago 2010-11-22T20:10:20

      PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thousands of Cambodians celebrating a water festival on an island in a river in the capital stampeded Monday night, leaving more than 300 people dead and hundreds injured. Some in the panicky crowd who tried to flee over a bridge were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water.

      Ambulances raced back and forth between the river and the hospitals for several hours after the stampede. Calmette Hospital, the capital's main medical facility, was filled to capacity with bodies as well as patients, some of whom had to be treated in hallways. Many of the injured appeared to be badly hurt, raising the prospect that the death toll could rise as local hospitals became overwhelmed.

      Updated 17 minutes ago 11/22/2010 8:10:20 PM +00:00 Thousands of Cambodians celebrating a water festival on an island in a river in the capital stampeded Monday night, leaving more than 300 people dead and hundreds injured. Full story

      Hours after the chaos, the dead and injured were still being taken away from the scene, while searchers looked for bodies of anyone who might have drowned. An Associated Press reporter saw one body floating in the river, and hundreds of shoes left behind on and around the bridge.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen, in the third of three post-midnight live television broadcasts, said that 339 people had been killed and 329 injured. He described the chaos as the "biggest tragedy" to strike his country since the communist Khmer Rouge ruled in a reign of terror in the 1970s, and ordered an investigation.

      Hun Sen declared Thursday would be a national day of mourning, and ordered all government ministries to fly the flag at half-staff.

      Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.

      The last race ended early Monday evening, the last night of the holiday, and the panic started later on Koh Pich — Diamond Island — a long spit of land wedged in a fork in the river where a concert was being held. It was unclear how many people were on the island to celebrate the holiday, though the area appeared to be packed with people, as were the banks.

      Soft drink vendor So Cheata said the trouble began when about 10 people fell unconscious in the press of the crowd. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede, with many people caught underfoot.

      Information Minister Khieu Kanharith gave a similar account of the cause.

      Seeking to escape the island, part of the crowd pushed onto a bridge, which also jammed up, with people falling under others and into the water. So Cheata said hundreds of hurt people lay on the ground afterward. Many appeared to be unconscious.

      Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands.

      Koh Pich used to host a slum community, but in recent years the poor have been evicted to make way for high-rise and commercial development, most yet to be realized.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • sns-8a12f0c6c99245aea2bbc9ce56f1c154-2

      Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      A crowd of Cambodians are pushed onto a bridge on the last day of celebrations of a water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing at least 17 people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over a bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://snsimages.tribune.com/media/photo/2010-11/57815876.jpg

      Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      An injured Cambodian is carried by visitors after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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    • EthicalVegan:

      Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      An injured Cambodian is carried by a another visitor after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      An injured Cambodian is helped by a police officer after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

    • 1 year ago
  • ysamphy
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      ysamphy  

    • Cambodian premiere announced on a local TV that the entire nation will mourn on Nov 25 to pray for those who died in the tragic stampede.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/22/scores-killed-cambodia-water-festiva...

      Scores killed in crowd stampede at Cambodia water festival

      Phnom Penh event turns deadly after panicking crowds huddled on a small island pushed over a bridge to the mainland

      * Associated Press
      * guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 November 2010 18.58 GMT

      Rescue workers in Cambodia

      Photo: Cambodian rescue workers carry a victim to safety after festival crowds caused a stampede. Photograph: Mak Remissa/EPA

      More then 180 people died in a stampede at a water festival in Phnom Penh tonight, according to Cambodia's prime minister.

      Hundreds more were hurt at the event, on a small island, as the crowd panicked and pushed over a bridge to the mainland. Authorities had estimated that more than 2 million people could descend on the capital for the three-day event, whose main attraction is a traditional boat race along the Tonlé Sap river.

      The last race ended in the early evening. Panic broke out later on Koh Pich island, where a concert was being held. So Cheata, a soft drinks vendor, said the trouble began when 10 people in the crowd fell unconscious. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede in which many people were trampled.

      Part of the crowd huddled on to a bridge, which jammed solid, causing people to fall under others or off the bridge. So Cheata said she saw hundreds of injured people lying on the ground afterwards.

      An official at Calmette hospital, said 17 bodies had been brought there from the riverside. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

      Police and other official services were unable to provide more details, saying they were too busy attending to the injured.

      Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily demand.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Cambodia-Stampede-Kills-339-People-I...

      SkyNewsHD

      Breaking News

      7:53pm UK, Monday November 22, 2010
      Cambodia PM: 339 Dead In Festival Stampede

      Kate Sullivan and Philip Thomas, Sky News Online
      At least 339 people have died in a stampede at Phnom Penh's annual Water Festival celebrations, Cambodia's prime minister has said.

      An injured person is carried into a hospital following stampede at festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

      An injured man is carried into a hospital from an ambulance

      Thousands of Cambodians were on the streets to mark the end of the festival when the crowd rushed onto a bridge, an official told AFP news agency.

      Up to two million people had been expected to attend the festival's close, where the main attraction is a traditional boat race along the Tonle Sap river.

      The panic had started on Koh Pich - Diamond Island, a long spit of land in the river where a concert was being held.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen made several live television broadcasts after midnight, giving a preliminary death toll of 181 that he later increased to 190 and then to 339.

      The website of the newspaper Kampuchea Thmey had already quoted General Sao Sokha, chief of the military police, as saying the death toll could be close to 300, according to information from four hospitals to which bodies were taken.

      The bridge where the stampede happened

      A drink seller at the concert, So Cheata, told reporters that 10 people had fallen unconscious as the crowd surged, setting off a panic that became a stampede.

      According to witnesses, the panic was made worse as the crowd rushed to cross the bridge and people fell into the water.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/894767--339-killed-in-cambodian-stampe...

      339 killed in panic at Cambodian water festival
      Published 6 minutes ago

      An injured Cambodian is carried by police and other visitors after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 22, 2010.

      Heng Sinith/AP
      Reuters

      PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA— The death toll from a stampede on a bridge in Cambodia’s capital rose to at least 339 people with nearly just as many wounded, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

      Most of the victims were crushed or drowned, after thousands panicked late on Monday when several people were electrocuted while celebrating the end of an annual water festival.

      Prime Minister Hun Sen apologized on television for the disaster. State television said two hospitals reported 278 were killed, among them 240 women.

      Many people died after leaping from the bridge across a tributary of Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh, authorities said.

      Authorities had estimated that upward of two million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.

      With files from The Associated Press.

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
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      EthicalVegan  
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    • EthicalVegan:

      http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20101122/capt.photo_1290449810268-9-0.jpg?x=213&y=...

      Cambodia stampede leaves more than 330 dead
      AFP

      SLIDE SHOW...

      Cambodia stampede leaves more than 330 dead AFP/File – Cambodian military police carry a body near a bridge in Phnom Penh. A stampede in the Cambodian capital …

      * Cambodia stampede leaves hundreds dead

      by Suy Se Suy Se – 34 mins ago

      PHNOM PENH (AFP) – A stampede in the Cambodian capital has left more than 330 people dead after panic erupted at a water festival that had attracted millions of revellers.

      Dozens of ambulances with their sirens blaring raced to the scene of the tragedy, which occurred late Monday on a narrow bridge to an island in Phnom Penh where festivities were being held to mark the end of the annual event.

      At least 339 people died in the incident, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on television.

      "With this miserable event, I would like to share my condolences with my compatriots and the family members of the victims," he said.

      Hun Sen said the government would arrange for the bodies of out-of-town visitors to be sent home.

      It was not immediately clear exactly what triggered the stampede.

      "This needs to be investigated more," Hun Sen said, adding that a committee would be set up to examine the incident.

      Witnesses reported people pushing and shoving in the crowd.

      "We were crossing the bridge to Diamond Island when people started pushing from the other side. There was lots of screaming and panic," 23-year-old Kruon Hay told AFP at the scene.

      "People started running and were falling over each other. I fell too. I only survived because other people pulled me up. Many people jumped in the water," he said.

      Sunglasses and flip-flops were left scattered on the ground among lifeless bodies.

      Police were seen carrying away some of the victims and bodies were laid in a row on the ground. Many of the dead appeared to be young Cambodians.

      "This is the biggest tragedy we have ever seen," said Sok Sambath, governor of the capital's Daun Penh district.

      Dozens of people gathered outside the city's Calmette hospital, where at least 105 people were confirmed dead, according to a police officer.

      More bodies were taken to other hospitals across the city, he said.

      Many festivalgoers were left in tears after the tragic end to the three days of boat races, concerts and fireworks.

      The annual festival, one of Cambodia's largest and most exuberant, marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers.

      It is also seen as a way of giving thanks to the river for providing the country with fertile land and abundant fish.

      The event -- which saw hundreds of brightly coloured boats take part in races on the Tonle Sap river -- is popular with tourists but there were no immediate reports that foreigners were among the victims.

      SLIDE SHOW:
      http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101122/wl_asia_afp/cambodiafestivalaccident

    • 1 year ago
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      Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      A Cambodian police officer helps injured Cambodians after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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      Heng Sinith, AP / November 22, 2010

      An injured Cambodian is helped by other visitors after a stampede onto a bridge at an accident site during the last day of celebrations of the water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing many people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over the bridge to the mainland. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

    • 1 year ago
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