The image was horrific and described as a pyramid of human bodies by witnesses. This accident was described by Prime Minister as the most horrifying tragedy since the Communist reign in Cambodia.
Thousands of people stampeded during a festival in the Cambodian capital Monday, leaving at least 349 dead and hundreds of other people injured. A panic-stricken crowd of revellers marking the end of the rainy season on an island in a river tried to flee over a narrow bridge and many people were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water.
Thousands of pairs of shoes scattered across the bridge, leaving barely a metre of empty space on the road — and as I walked through the blood-soaked pavement I realized this was a much bigger tragedy than I could have ever imagined.
Disoriented victims struggled to find an escape hatch through the human mass, pushing their way in every direction.
The capital's main medical facility is filled to capacity with patients, some of whom are being treated in hallways.
