Cambodia on Saturday held a Buddhist ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Water Festival stampede in which 353 people died.
Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatevong joined hundreds of the family members of the victims to mark the anniversary at a memorial monument for the dead.
During the ceremony, more than 100 Buddhist monks chanted in religious language in order to dedicate to the souls of the dead as attendees laid flowers and lit incense sticks to pray for the dead to rest in peace. "We share our deep sympathy to the family members of the dead in the stampede on the last day of the Water Festival four years ago, "Pa Socheatevong said. "We have never forgotten them and will hold such commemorative ceremony every year to honor them,"he said.
The stampede accident happened on Nov. 22, 2010, the final day of the Water Festival, which is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation.
After the tragedy, the government canceled the Water Festival celebrations for three consecutive years and just resumed it this year.