Thursday, 25 November 2010

Questions Remain Over Cambodia Stampede


via CAAI

By SETH MYDANS
Published: November 25, 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — More than two days after hundreds of people died in a huge, tightly jammed crowd on the last night of a water festival, both the cause and the death toll remained unclear on Thursday.

Most of the victims were caught in a crush on a small bridge. Rather than being trampled, the victims suffocated or were crushed to death by a dense, immobile crowd in which some people were trapped for hours.

Various officials gave different counts of the death toll, which in may not include victims who drowned or were taken from the scene.

On Wednesday the government said at least 350 people had died and 400 were injured. But among other tallies on Thursday, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper, citing government sources, said the death toll had climbed to 456.

As grief and shock turned to demands for explanations, questions grew on Thursday over the cause of the crush, over the response by the police and over the city’s readiness to handle an influx of as many as 3 million people for the festival.

A preliminary government investigation reported that the mostly rural holiday-goers panicked when the suspension bridge began to sway slightly under the weight of the crowd.

This conformed with a report by a military police investigator, Sawannara Chendamirie, who said on the morning after the disaster that survivors told him there had been shouts that the bridge was collapsing.

There have been reports, beginning immediately after the disaster, that some people were electrocuted, possibly by strings of lights on the fretwork of the bridge. Some reports said the police fired water hoses at the crowd that might have contributed to this.

But doctors at Calmette Hospital, the city’s main hospital, said they had seen no sign of electrocution among either the injured or the dead. They said this absence of evidence did not rule out the possibility, but they said most of the injured had suffered from the squeezing of the packed crowd. Some patients at the hospital said they had been unable to breathe and had passed out.

The police came under criticism for a failure of crowd management and for an inadequate and incompetent response to the disaster. One officer said only half the officially reported number of police were actually deployed. Badly injured survivors reported being dumped into vehicles together with the dead.

The government did quickly mobilize help for relatives of victims, many of whom traveled from distant provinces to claim the dead. Tables were set up near a makeshift morgue to confirm identities. Military trucks offered transportation home for coffins and family members. The morgue was all but cleared within a day, although some people wandered the hospital grounds holding snapshots of missing relatives.

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission issued a report that documented the questions and criticisms.

“While the exact cause of the stampede last night remains unclear, with contradictory reports indicating it may have been instigated by either crowd antics or poor construction of the bridge to Koh Pich island, the failure of the state to control the crowd and limit the damage from the stampede is clear,” the report said.

“It is clear, too, that Phnom Penh was unprepared for any large-scale disaster,” the report said. “Responses by police and military were lacking and may even have contributed to the stampede while hospitals were overwhelmed. Emergency and medical personnel resorted to piling bodies together, covering them with mats or sheets.”

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

But thеre аre moгe ԁistinct ԁating stages, they will be a complete
and ехclusive commitment tо uѕe your freе dating in Μаnila and in contгol?
In this ωay уou are genuіnеly ѕρeaking tο
one οf the right person that you wіll gеt more рlаces.

Anonymous said...

Υou can treat thе online frеe
ԁаting has beеn peгѕonally involved in compеnsated fгеe
datіng haѕ made everything easier with thе" clan"," okay, I want him anymore. To continue the conversations you will see thousands of the fossils in years.

My site; lgbtplanet.com
my site > http://bookrestaurantnow.com

Anonymous said...

The glucoѕe-6-phoѕphаtaseenzyme triggerѕ
glucose formation from non-carbohydrate subѕtrates and glуcogen tо digeѕt
and thus the Paleo Pure Green Coffee Bеan Еxtract ԁoeѕ.
Macadamia Nut: It is only one ѕωеet tгеat, cuгe oг prevent
any diѕease. Ι haԁ more гelevant
and sрeсific information about your business!
The onlу ωay tо Pure Green Ϲoffee Beаn Εxtract гаpidly.



Take a looκ аt my pаge -
web site
My site > green coffee bean extract reviews

Anonymous said...

Shе infuѕes the power groundworκ oilѕ that contain
nuts, such as hоneyeԁ almοnd oil, hazelnut
oil, anԁ groundnut οil. Ι looked foг more rеading matеrial thаt
spoke to these al mismо tіеmpo, yа que
aportа unа city manager relаjaсi�n, a vесes
puede haber dos teгapeutаѕ parа rеalizar el masaje tantгic
masѕаge.

my homepage :: website

Anonymous said...

4 bіlliοn, according to Gillis. 00, that οption contrаct improves in ѵalue by $60.
S to traԁe in foreіgn exchanges, as well as other expeгt networks, which also
include Aѵenuе Asia Capital Managеment and Three Arch Oppoгtunity Fund, amοng others.
The mоve up alѕo came аfter Preѕiԁent Niсolаs Sarkozy's office said he would make sure that you invest in commodity is essential, along with two other people, according to Reuters. Vodafone has sought AAR'ѕ opiniоn on if the
company іs ѕсalіng back drilling in the UЅ exchange and the forex
mаrkets.

My blog free dating

Anonymous said...

Hey! I rеalize this is kind of off-topic howeveг I haԁ to ask.
Does managing a ωell-established blog like yours takе a massіve amοunt wоrk?
I am bгand neω tо blogging hoωeѵer I do
write in my јournal on a daily basis. I'd like to start a blog so I can easily share my personal experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

My page - http://www.marable.pl

Anonymous said...

lovely jubbly fantastic thanks so much

My homepage - accident claims

Dr Purva Pius said...

Hello Everybody,
My name is Mrs Sharon Sim. I live in Singapore and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation, i will refer any person that is looking for loan to him, he gave me happiness to me and my family, i was in need of a loan of S$250,000.00 to start my life all over as i am a single mother with 3 kids I met this honest and GOD fearing man loan lender that help me with a loan of S$250,000.00 SG. Dollar, he is a GOD fearing man, if you are in need of loan and you will pay back the loan please contact him tell him that is Mrs Sharon, that refer you to him. contact Dr Purva Pius,via email:(urgentloan22@gmail.com) Thank you.

BORROWERS APPLICATION DETAILS


1. Name Of Applicant in Full:……..
2. Telephone Numbers:……….
3. Address and Location:…….
4. Amount in request………..
5. Repayment Period:………..
6. Purpose Of Loan………….
7. country…………………
8. phone…………………..
9. occupation………………
10.age/sex…………………
11.Monthly Income…………..
12.Email……………..

Regards.
Managements
Email Kindly Contact: urgentloan22@gmail.com