The Cambodian water Festival 456 dead due to Stampede

In an unfortunate incident in the capital of Cambidia, Phnom Penh, about 456 people were crushed and 391 others were injured in a stampede that occurred on a bridge on Tuesday.

Sources say that the stampede occurred during a water festival, when the crowd started to panic, as the bridge started to swing.

A Cambodian Embassy official in Washington said that there were about four million people in the water festival when the incident occurred. Sources also say that during the stampede many people jumped off the bridge, into the river, in order to escape the stampede. So the rescue workers are also searching in the river for survivors.

This festival is held every year in the month of November, which pays tribute to the Cambodian naval forces in the 12th century, when King Jayvarman used to rule. It is called the water festival because, people pour water at one another as a part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the new year. According to the tradition, people gently sprinkle water on one another as a sign of respect.