3 killed in the lightning strike on the Cambodia Angkor Wat UNESCO location

Gone from David
Associated Press

Bangkok (AP) – Three people were killed and several others were injured when they were hit by lightning while visiting the famous Angkor Wat -Tempel complex in Cambodia.

They had been looking for protection in the main temple of the UNESCO location when lightning hit late Friday afternoon.

Videos published on social media showed two ambulances that arrive after the consequences, and spectators and site officials who carry out some injured people and help others on foot. Other pictures showed several people treated in the hospital.

The day after the incident, Kambodschas Tourismus Minister HAK made an explanation in which they are supposed to pick up people about the online contributions and said that the spread of “negative information” could harm the country's tourism sector.

The authorities have not published any information about the incident, but an official on Monday that spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the problem, the Associated Press confirmed that three people – all Cambodian – were killed in the lightning strike.

The Cambodian Red Cross also released an update in which the families of two victims, a 34-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman had delivered. The Red Cross refused to comment on the phone.

A spokesman for the Angkor Wat website did not respond to inquiries about comments or a regional health officer.

The Cambodia government under Prime Minister Hun Manet adheres to information and was accused by legal groups to use the court system to prosecute critics and political opponents.

Hun Manet succeeded his father in 2023, who was widely criticized for the oppression of freedom of speech during his almost four decades of autocratic rule.

Angkor Wat is Cambodia's best -known tourist attraction, which attracts around 2.5 million visitors annually and can even be seen on the country's flag.

UNESCO calls the location, which spreads over 400 square kilometers (155 square miles) and contains the ruins of Khmer Empire's capitals from 9 to 15th century, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia has actively developed the area to attract more visitors, including the opening of a new airport of $ 1.1 billion in the nearby Siem Reap.

However, his step to bring around 10,000 families in the Angkor Wat region into a new settlement has drawn the criticism of human rights groups, and the UNESCO itself has taken care of.

The Cambodian authorities said that the families were resettled voluntarily, but Amnesty International and others questioned how voluntarily the move actually were.

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