Chaotic Water Festival in Cambodia, 345 dead


PHNOM PENH - Cambodia's situation is chaotic in the capital following the panic that occurred at a water festival has resulted in 345 lives were lost and hundreds were injured.

Dozens of ambulances were brought to the scene on Monday, 22 novembe night local time, on a narrow bridge connecting the island of Diamond in Phnom Penh, where the festival was held.
Prime Minister Hun Sen described the incident as the worst incident since the Khmer Rouge, who during his reign in the 1975-1979 led to the killing of a quarter of Cambodia's population.


"This is the biggest tragedy since the regime of Pol Pot," Hun Sen said in a live broadcast on national television, as quoted by AFP on Tuesday (23/11/2010).
He said Cambodia will set Thursday, November 25, as a day of national mourning. "I want to express my deep condolences to the residents and family members left behind," he continued.
Hun Sen said that he had planned to dispatch the bodies of visitors who come from out of town back to his hometown.
"The chaos that resulted in at least 345 people were killed and 410 others wounded," said a government spokesman Khieu Kanharith."Most victims died from running out of breath and internal injuries," he concluded.


Recommended Posts :