Bamboo span collapses during alms, several injured

Bamboo span collapses during alms, several injured

The Mae Hong Son province bridge was recently restored (left) but collapsed again on Wednesday, apparently by too many people attending an alms ceremony.
The Mae Hong Son province bridge was recently restored (left) but collapsed again on Wednesday, apparently by too many people attending an alms ceremony.

MAE HONG SON: Several people giving alms to monks were injured, with two in a serious condition, when the Su Tong Pae Bridge, the country's longest bamboo bridge, collapsed Wednesday morning.

A large crowd of local people and visitors had gathered on the two-metre wide, 500m long walkway to make merit and mark the end of Buddhist Lent, the Ok Pansa festival.

There were also 29 monks on the woven bamboo structure when a large section of it collapsed under the weight of so many people, sending many of them screaming into the waterway below. 

The collapse took place 15 minutes after the merit-making ceremony started. 

The event was attended by local officials and monks including the Suantham Pusama meditation centre's abbot, Buddhist faithful, and tourists. 

One man and a woman were seriously hurt as they struck concrete posts and several others suffered minor injuries in the incident. 

They were freed from the debris and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

An attempt to rescue the wounded was hampered by the crowd of faithful who continued giving alms to monks despite the collapse of part of the structure.

Mae Hong Son governor Pipat Aekphapan, who visited the injured at the hospital, did not name the victims. 

Sue Tong Pae, one of the "hidden tourist attractions" in the province, is an ethnic Tai phrase meaning "success".

The bamboo walkway was built by locals and monks and crosses the Mae Sa Nga River to connect adjoining paddy fields.

The bridge links Kung Mai Sak village in Muang district, about 8km from downtown Mae Hong Son, and Suantham Pusama meditation centre, providing access to monks and novices to collect alms from Buddhists in the community. 

Deputy Mae Hong Son governor Wiroon Panthewee was presiding over the merit-making ceremony when the accident occurred.

He said the bridge was damaged by heavy flooding in the province in August, and had only recently been repaired.

Mr Wiroon said the large number of people on the bridge brought about its collapse.

Mr Pipat said he will call for a meeting with authorities, residents and monks to repair the bridge.

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