AFP
PHNOM PENH — The Cambodian capital will continue to host an annual water festival despite the deaths of nearly 350 people at this year's event in a stampede on a bridge, an official said.
"The ceremony will still be held as usual," said Chea Kean, deputy secretary general of a government festival committee, adding that it was an "age-old tradition" in the country.
He said it was too soon to say whether Cambodia's most popular festival would attract as many visitors next year in the wake of Monday's disaster, in which 347 people lost their lives, 221 of them women.
"Let's wait and see when we get nearer to the event," said Chea Kean.
The three-day event, which marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, usually draws millions of visitors to the capital to enjoy dragon boat races, fireworks and concerts.
The festival ended in tragedy after crowds panicked on an overcrowded bridge leading to an island that was one of the main event sites.
Authorities said a full report on the incident would be released next week.
Initial findings from an investigating committee suggest the stampede occurred after rumours rippled through the crowd that the suspension bridge to Phnom Penh's Diamond Island was about to collapse.
The crossing, where people have been gathering to mourn and lay out candles, flowers and food offerings for the souls of the deceased, remained closed to the public on Friday although an official has said it will reopen soon.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has described the disaster as Cambodia's worst tragedy since the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 reign of terror, which killed up to a quarter of the population.
15 comments:
Khmer have suffered and continue to suffer endless under Hun Sen regime.
Because Hun Sen uphold uuon interest more than Khmer interest.
For most Khmer who know our real history with Yuon and Siam ( Thai )who well why Yuon installed Khmer Viet Minh and Hun Sen to run the country .
It is all about Indochina Federation.
Well. why the fuckinh lazy Cambodian people didnt do anything about it. If they knew or dont know HUN Sen was Khmer Rouge general or Khmer people dont care!
Do something Khmer people....tired of complaining...
NGO
Your Majesty Samdech Ta former King Norodom Sihanouk,
Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen,
Thank you for your both kindness and understanding.
What we need is prevention methods, not to let this type of accident happen again in the future.
It also makes me very worried to see so much alcohol allowed to enter or be produced in our beloved Kingdom of Cambodia? What about “ YA BA “ and other types of DRUGS from Thailand and Vietnam?
Can His Majesty Samdech Ta and Samdech Hun Sen stop all sorts of drugs coming to Cambodia? The accident may not be related to drugs and alcohol but just some thing that I could not sleep peacefully from now on to the future, in the names sake of true Khmer citizen.
Can Samdech Hun Sen kindly ask all 5 million Vietnamese illegal immigrants to peacefully return to Vietnam, so Koh Pich will not be too crowded more and more every day, every month and every year to come.
All Vietnamese illegal immigrants can easily come in and settle inside Cambodia even though they already have their own country Vietnam.
When Cambodia is too crowded, definitely we Khmer people can not go to settle inside Vietnam, can we?
Please Vietnamese, you said you came to rescue us from Pol Pot, and you don’t want to return home, it is not right according to 23rd October 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, can all of you go back to your country now.
Vietnamese illegal immigrants, you see because 5 million of you are inside Cambodia, it makes us too crowded and we wasted our lives at Koh Pich without good reasons.
Your Vietnamese Communism expansionist mind in Cambodia, is to give an excuse to China mainland to occupy your Spratly Islands, Parcel Islands, the whole of your Eastern sea border and perhaps the Northern border sooner or later.
5 million Vietnamese illegal immigrants in Cambodia, please go back home to defend your country from Chinese mighty economic invasion.
May I pray to God and the Lord Jesus Christ that those who have lost loved one will be comforted.
My condolences to all the victim's family.
Regards,
Kulen Monorom
(The rice farmer's son)
All the police who;s are assigned to this event should be fired and charged, so the Tourist committee. Cut your non bull shit inexperiece office work. Get the Fuck out Phnom Penh!
WATER FESTIVAL AND OTHER NATIONAL
TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES MUST STAY ON
BUT BY NO MEANS WITH THE SAME ORGANIZERS FROM TOP LEADERSHIP LIKE
MR.HUN SEN DOWN TO THE PHNOM PENH GOVERNOR AND ASSOCIATES. THEY HAVE PREDICTED MORE THAN FIVE MILLION
PEOPLE AT THE FESTIVAL BUT THEY CAN'T EVEN HANDLE THREE AND A HAFT MILLIONS. WHAT CAN YOU GUYS TELL ME SAMDECHS AND EXCELLENCIES. HOW ABOUT OUR UNTOUCHABLE GAY KING?
SEE YA!!!
The simple thing to do was to CUT the CHAIN at the end of the bridge so that people could get off the bridge. The chain at the end of the bridge prevent people from getting off; they got pushed into the chain and they couldn't move.
Dear Khmer compatriot brothers and sisters,
I fill very sorry for the incident at Koh Pich that Khmer have been suffering again and again; I wish Khmer stop having the tragedies like this from now on. However, what I can see, if Yourn are still behind Hun Sen government, used Hun Sen ‘s hands to help killing Khmer in many different ways like that, Khmer never stop being suffered. This happening, at Koh Pich, is not the final tragedy for Khmer citizen. I do not believe that it is a real accident disaster; it has to have somebody plan to work on it to kill Khmer citizen for weakening us. If my view is correct, you will see Khmer will have a lot more tragedies than this in the near future. Therefore in order to stop something happen like this is to pull Hun Sen and his clans out of the government (it does not meter how we do it) and change government structure and policies.
Bon Um Touk next year, you Khmers all just stay home and see what will happen?
khmer should know who is your killer? chinese communist ,youn communist . Mao ,ho cho minh ,whore cho hong ,hun sen chea sim hen rin etc...all khmer rouge is your killer .
hopefully next year and so forth will be better organized as far as prevention of accidence like this. it was obviously the narrow bridge that cause the inevitable stampede death as people did not have spaces to escape, etc... i think city authority like police, etc should beef up the flow of traffic, both foot and vehicular, especially in areas where bottleneck is a potential hazzard to the revelers, etc... it was a freak accidence. and cambodia and our people should learn from it, albeit the hard way.
Fuck these fucking morons, Stupid officials. Need to step down!!!!!!!!!
We will defeat you AHHHHHH HUN SEN!!!!!!!! You will die one day you mother fucker
You people really are morons, its lucky for Cambodia that you all live abroad, with your friends the French colonizers of Cambodia and the USA who dropped 2.5 million tons of bombs on Cambodia.
10:57 AM
You want to defeat Mr Hun Sen,
First you need to educate yourself, to know the world better and visiting the West Point Military academy. Otherwise you are not too strong or too mart enough to lead us and the Khmer people.
PREVENTION:
It has been claimed that most major crowd disasters can be prevented by simple crowd management strategies.Human stampedes can be prevented by organization and traffic control, such as barriers. On the other hand, barriers in some cases may funnel the crowd towards an already-packed area.
is it the narrow bridge, is it the over crowding, is it the derelict of police on duty there, is it someone yelled the bridge is collapsing, is it someone fainted due to lack of air in the middle of the crowd, i.e. the weak, the small ones, the sick, etc, or all of the above? inquirers want to know!
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