180 killed in Cambodia festival stampede

Three hundred and thirty-nine people have been killed, and 329 injured, in a stampede during the celebration of a water festival in Cambodia, the country’s prime minister has said.

Authorities had estimated that more than two million people would descend on the capital Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.

A witness said the crowd began to panic when a few people fell unconscious in the crush.

Prime minister Hun Sen said 339 people were killed in the ensuing stampede.