Cambodia gov't revises down death figure of stampede to 347 [-Hopefully the numbers are not manipulated]

A Cambodian police officer stand near the bodies of stampede victims as relatives watch at Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh November 23 , 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The latest statement by the sub-committee for urgent settlement on the Diamond Island bridge accident Thursday morning revised the death toll figure of the major stampede to 347, a big drop from the previous 456.

The statement, signed by the chairman of the sub-committee Ith Samheng, who is also the minister of social affairs, said the previous figure of death toll was incorrect due to some overlap in the statistics.

This is a major amendment for the death toll figure of 456 provided by the same sub-committee Wednesday afternoon.

By 00:30 a.m. on Thursday, after verification, 347 were dead in the stampede, of which 126 men and 221 women, said the latest statement.

It also revised down the injury number from 755 to 395, saying the latter was based on the statistics by the hospitals.

Earlier the Bayon TV, owned by the daughter of the Prime Minister Hun Sen, reported 755 people had got injured in the stampede on Monday night, the final day of the Water Festival.

The tragedy occurred as thousands of people tried to flee a bridge connecting the mainland of Phnom Penh and the Diamond Island due to rumors of bridge collapsing