Chinese government on Friday donated 500,000 U.S. dollars to Cambodia to relieve the families of the dead and the injured in the stampede tragedy on Monday night at the Diamond Island Bridge during the final day of the Water Festival.

Jin Yuan, commercial counsellor of Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, on Friday informed the donation during meeting with Sok An, deputy prime minister and minister of the council of ministers, and also chairman of the special committee for Diamond Island Accident.

"On behalf of Cambodian government, I would like to profoundly thank China for her attention on the stampede tragedy and donate money timely to help the victims," said Sok An. "Cambodia and China are fraternal and always assist each other all the time."

The stampede tragedy left 357 people killed and other 397 injured, he said, adding that the dead were due to suffocation, stampede and drawn, no any sign of terrorism.

Sok An said that main cause of the tragedy was due to the very crowded people pushed each other back and forth, and some shouted the bridge was collapsing, causing the stampede.

Cambodia's Water Festival from Nov. 20 to 22 is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation, around three million Cambodians, especially those from rural areas converged to the city to enjoy the regatta.

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