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339 Killed in Cambodian Festival Stampede

   VOA News 22 November 2010
   An injured Cambodian is carried by police officers and another visitor
   after  a  deadly  stampede  in  Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22,
   2010.

Photo: AP

   An injured Cambodian is carried by police officers and another visitor
   after  a  deadly  stampede  in  Phnom  Penh,  Cambodia, Nov. 22, 2010.
   Thousands  of  Cambodians celebrating a water festival by the river in
   the Cambodian capital stampeded Monday night, killing hundreds.

   Cambodian  Prime  Minister  Hun Sen says at least 339 people have been
   killed in a stampede at a festival in the capital, Phnom Penh. Â
   Most of the victims were crushed or drowned during a panic Monday as a
   huge crowd rushed to cross a bridge over the Tonle Sap river.
   The  prime  minister  said  more  than  300 people were injured in the
   chaos,  which  he  described  as  the  "biggest tragedy" to strike the
   country  since the communist Khmer Rouge ruled in a reign of terror in
   the 1970s.
   It  remains  unclear what caused the crowd to rush from a small island
   where hundreds had gathered to watch a traditional boat race.
   Panic  escalated  as crowds rushed to cross the bridge, causing people
   to fall into the river.
   Authorities  estimate  more  than  1 million people had flocked to the
   capital for the annual water festival.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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