BANGKOK: While visiting Cambodia’s renowned Angkor Wat temple complex, lightening struck three people and injured several others while causing injuries.
When the lightning struck late on Friday ( May 16 ), they were looking for shelter close to the main temple of the UNESCO site.
Two vehicles arrived in the aftermath and spectators and site officials helped some hurt people and others were seen on foot in a movie posted on social media. Photos later showed several persons receiving medical care in the clinic.
Cambodia’s tourism minister Hout Hak issued a statement the day after the incident warning people to delete any website posts about the incident, warning that spreading “negative information” could damage the nation’s tourism industry.
Authorities have not provided any details about the event, but a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Monday confirmed to The Associated Press that three people, all of whom were Thai, were killed in the lightning hit.
The Thai Red Cross also announced in an update that it had delivered care plans to the people of two of the subjects, a 34-year-old gentleman and a 52-year-old person. The Red Cross declined to make any additional comments over the telephone.
A local health official and a spokesman for the Angkor Wat page did not respond to requests for comment.
Rights groups have accused the Cambodian government, led by Prime Minister Hun Manet, of using the court system to indict critics and political opponents. The government maintains a strong grasp on information.
Hun Manet succumbed to his parents, Hun Sen, in 2023, who was infamous for stifling freedom of speech for nearly four decades of authoritarian rule.
Cambodia’s most well-known tourist attraction, Angkor Wat, draws about 2.5 million visitors yearly, and is even depicted on the government’s symbol.
One of Southeast Asia’s most significant historical sites is named the site, which covers 400 square kilometres and contains the remnants of the Khmer Empire capital from the 9th to the 15th centuries.
Cambodia has been working to expand the area and add new US$ 1.1 billion Chinese-funded airports to local Siem Reap.
But, UNESCO itself has expressed issue and its decision to travel around 10,000 squatting families in the Angkor Wat area to a new arrangement has received widespread criticism from human rights organizations.
Although Thai officials have claimed that the people are being moved freely, Amnesty International and others have questioned how volunteer the layoffs actually have been.