My 4 Seas0ns: Autumn: Cambodian Stampede

At the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh many people were celebrating an annual 3 day water festival which marks the changing of the flow of the Tonle Sap River. The river flows upstream and downstream providing the country with fertile land & abundant fish. On the third and final day of the celebration (Mon, Nov. 22) about 7-8 thousand revelers were crossing the diamond gate bridge to attend to a concert on diamond island when the suspension bridge started to sway. Some overheard others saying that it was going to collapse. People began to panic while others fainted resulting into a human stampede as they all frantically tried to get off the bridge at once. Many were swept underfoot and crushed to death. Others jumped off the bridge or fell into the river. But since the current was so strong the majority of people drowned.

There are many speculations onto the cause of the stampede like the police throwing a water canon at the people as an effort to get everybody to move a long or that some of the electric cables of the bridge snapped off resulting into people getting electrocuted. One doctor said that the main cause was from suffocation and electric shock. Whereas there were witnesses that had criticized authorities for causing congestion by blocking a second bridge across the river despite the huge crowds that gathered for the festival, and also for a slow and confused emergency response. I mean cutting off a second route, forcing everybody through a very narrow space, and failing to respond to the requests for help until it was too late. That is exactly what happened during Germany's Love Parade, they also eliminated a second entrance/exit despite huge crowds, and then the police wouldn't respond until people were already dead. Now it's happened twice?
However the cause really was it left a toll of 347 victims dead and 395 injured. More women and children then men.

On Thurs, Nov. 25 Cambodia mourns for all those innocent lives that were tragically lost. Hundreds of Buddhist monks held a religious ceremony to pray for those who were killed in the stampede. I am Cambodian-American and only visited Cambodia with my parents not too long ago, back in March. I am so stricken by this, this was suppose to be a time of celebration but it turned into a tragedy. My condolences and sympathy goes out to all those who are suffering for their lost love ones. ='(

Here is a link to learn more about this horrific day.

You can also search under, "Cambodian Stampede" through google or youtube to see video clips.