Days after the fatal stampede, hospitals in Cambodia continue to treat survivors. The bodies of over 400 victims have been claimed, according to hospital officials. What should have been a joyful end of festivities instead turned into tragedy in Phnom Penh.
The nation holding a day of mourning, Cambodia's President Hun Sen leading a ceremony in the capital, alongside his wife and ministers, paying respects to those who died in the water festival after the stampede on a small bridge. Police and organizers have faced criticism in the wake of the disaster, as well as the developers who built the bridge. Ultimate responsibility, though, lies with the popular president. Questions remain over why so many people were allowed to enter such a confined space on a small man-made island, and to how authorities handled crowds. For those who lost friends and relatives on the bridge, questions which may last a long time.
"I saw many people die, including my friends. If I died saving them, it would have been better."
