Deadly lightning strike kills three at busy Cambodia tourist spot

Tragedy struck Cambodia's iconic Angkor Wat temple complex on Friday afternoon when lightning killed three visitors and injured several others.

The victims were seeking shelter around the main temple of the UNESCO World Heritage site when the lightning struck.

Social media footage depicted the chaotic aftermath, showing two ambulances arriving at the scene. Onlookers and temple officials could be seen carrying injured individuals and assisting others on foot.

Further images revealed multiple people receiving medical treatment at a hospital. The incident underscores the dangers of sudden weather changes, particularly during the monsoon season.

The day after the incident, Cambodia's Minister of Tourism Hout Hak issued a statement telling people to take down online posts about it, saying the spreading of “negative information” could harm the country's tourism sector.

Authorities have released no information about the incident, but an official on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed to The Associated Press that three people — all Cambodian — were killed in the lightning strike.

The Cambodian Red Cross also posted an update saying it had delivered care packages to the families of two of the victims, a 34-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman. The Red Cross refused to comment further by phone.

A spokesman for the Angkor Wat site did not respond to requests for comment, nor did a regional health official.

Cambodia's government under Prime Minister Hun Manet keeps a tight grip on information, and has been accused by rights groups of using the court system to prosecute critics and political opponents.

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

Angkor Wat is Cambodia's best-known tourist attraction, attracting some 2.5 million visitors annually, and is even featured on the country's flag.

UNESCO calls the site, which sprawls across some 400 square kilometers (155 square miles) and contains the ruins of Khmer Empire capitals from the 9th to the 15th centuries, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia has been actively developing the area to attract more visitors, including opening a new $1.1 billion Chinese-funded airport in nearby Siem Reap.

Its move to relocate some 10,000 families squatting in the Angkor Wat area to a new settlement has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups, however, and UNESCO itself has expressed concern.

Cambodian authorities have said the families were being voluntarily relocated, but Amnesty International and others have questioned how voluntary the relocations actually have been.