PHNOM PENH (AFP)— Hundreds of tearful relatives burned incense and placed offerings of flowers, fruit and food Tuesday at the foot of a new memorial honouring 353 people who died in a bridge stampede one year ago.
"I feel fearful seeing this bridge," an emotional Tith Sam Ath, 40, whose 12-year-old son died in the disaster during a popular festival in the capital Phnom Penh, told AFP.
"I still miss my son every day. He was an outstanding student," she said, as Buddhist monks chanted and blessed the memorial, which carries the names of those who perished nearby.
Cambodia's annual water festival ended in tragedy last year when crowds panicked on the narrow crossing leading to the capital's Diamond Island, one of the main event sites.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said shortly afterwards that no officials would be punished over the stampede, which he called "a joint mistake".
A government inquiry found the crush began when rumours rippled through the packed crowd that the eight-metre-wide (26 feet), 100-metre-long bridge was unstable.
The annual festival, which marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, draws millions of visitors to the capital to enjoy dragon boat races, fireworks and concerts.
This year's event was cancelled after the government said the money would be better spent helping the victims of a recent flood disaster, the country's worst in over a decade.
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