Cambodia holds day of mourning for stampede victims

LONDON. November 25. KAZINFORM Cambodia is holding a day of mourning for hundreds of people killed in a festival stampede; Kazinform refers to BBC News.
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Prime Minister Hun Sen joined officials and grieving relatives for a religious ceremony at the footbridge where the tragedy happened.

Cambodia's social affairs ministry now says some 350 people died in the crush, 100 fewer than it said on Wednesday.

A preliminary investigation has found that the swaying of the bridge near the capital, Phnom Penh, triggered a panic.

The prime minister lit incense and laid a wreath near the bridge now cleared of shoes, clothing and plastic bottles that had been a grim reminder of the stampede.

His wife Bun Rany cried as a military band played. Other government officials, including Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, also paid their respects.

Flags were flying at half mast at government buildings across the capital. Most schools were closed and dozens of uniformed school children carrying flowers attended the early morning ceremony.

Witnesses said that as the disaster unfolded on Monday some people were crushed on the bridge, while others fell into the river and drowned.

Crowds of revellers had been crossing the bridge to reach an island where an annual water festival was being held.

A committee set up to investigate the disaster found that many of the people on the suspension bridge were from the countryside and were unaware that such structures often swayed, local media reported; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version

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