By Brian Murphy
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia- According to the Associated Press, thousands of people celebrating a water festival at the capital were stampeded Monday night leaving 339 dead and hundreds severely injured. Panic arose in the massive crowd of people causing people to flee over a bridge; fatalities resulted from persons falling off the bridge and being trampled.
The Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen described this disaster as the “biggest tragedy” to strike the country. He declared that this coming Thursday will be a national day of morning for the victims.
According to a soft drink vendor at the festival, the panic began when 10 people fell unconscious in the crowd. This led the crowd to flee towards the bridge, causing the stampede.
The water festival is a three day event in which the country celebrates the end of the rainy season. Authorities believe that up to 2 million people were in attendance on the island of Koh Pich.
The enormous amount of people rushing through the tight bridge led to the large death toll. A similar tragedy occurred earlier this summer in Germany. During the annual Love Parade music festival, 18 people were killed in a stampede after panic broke out in a narrow tunnel.
For information on the incident, visit http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/11/22/world/asia/AP-AS-Cambodia-Stampede.html?_r=1&hp
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