Cambodia PM weeps for stampede dead
Phnom Penh: Cambodia began a day of mourning on Thursday with the prime minister weeping at the spot where hundreds died during a wild riverside stampede.
Prime Minister Hun Sen cried as he lit candles and incense at a narrow bridge where thousands of festival-goers panicked, trampling hundreds underfoot on Monday night.
He was joined by the Bassac River in the capital Phnom Penh by his wife Bun Rany and Cabinet members. Flags throughout the country were flying at half-mast and a Buddhist ceremony was scheduled for later in the day.
There has been confusion over the death toll from the tragedy. The latest official casualty tally was 347 dead and 395 injured, down from earlier official figures.
As a suspension bridge in the Cambodian capital swayed under the weight of thousands of revelers, some began to shout that the structure was going to collapse. Others pushed, heaved and even jumped off the span as a panic took hold that ended in the deaths of more than 350 people.
Though typical, the movement of the bridge terrified the festival goers - many of whom were in Phnom Penh from the provinces for the end of rainy season and were unfamiliar with such bridges, city police Chief Touch Naroth said Wednesday, citing a government investigation he took part in.
"People became panicked when they saw other people fall down, and they started running when they heard cries that the bridge was going to collapse," Touch Naroth told AP Television News.
The police chief shared details of the probe, though an official report has not been released.
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