Phnom Penh stampede

24/11/2010 11:45 am

From Alistair and Juliet Curry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:
As you will probably know by now, there was a major incident in Phnom Penh last night. At least 378 people were killed in a stampede on the last night of the water festival, and over 750 were injured. The death toll is still rising.

We are ok, and all our OMF colleagues and Khmer staff are accounted for, though most of our Cambodian friends and neighbours at least know of someone missing.
A national day of mourning will be held on Thursday. The Prime Minister describes it as the worst tragedy to hit the country since the Pol Pot genocide.
I was at one of the main hospitals earlier to see whether they need OMF help, which was quite harrowing. I am also in touch with the Cambodian Red Cross and other NGOs to see how we can respond.
Mary, one of our OMF counsellors will be doing a group debriefing Thursday for the Cambodian staff of OMF.
Thank you for your prayers for all those affected. Phnom Penh was a very quiet place today, and our neighbours all have put out offerings for the spirits of the dead tonight.
Drs Alistair and Juliet Curry

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