Disasters

Hundreds Killed in Cambodian Stampede

At least 339 die during festival.

At least 339 people are dead, and more than 400 injured, after a stampede in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. It happened after a concert on Diamond Island in celebration of the annual Water Festival, one of the biggest events in Southeast Asia. It took place on a crowded bridge, after people on both ends began pushing inward, crushing those in the center. Many people jumped into the river for safety; some grasped at cables, pulling them loose, which caused a number of victims to die by electrocution. The Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen declared a day of mourning to occur later in the week, and called the incident the worst tragedy to hit Cambodia since the mass killings carried out by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.