Over 40 pupils have been absent from a school in Kien Giang for several days because they are scared of falling off a bridge, the principal of the school told DTiNews recently.
Mai Hong Gieng, Principal of Tay Yen 2 Primary School, Kien Giang Province said the pupils’ families got worried for their children after Tran Thi Be Ngoan, a 3rd grade pupil, fell off a simple suspension bridge in Rach Oc hamlet and drowned.
A simple suspension bridge in the Mekong Delta.
Over 40 pupils in this area have to cross the 20-metre bridge daily to go to school. The bridge has become more slippery during the recent rainy season, which made it even more dangerous. On rainy days, parents and teachers had to come to the bridge to help children cross the river and even rescued some who fell off this bridge. Ngoan lost her life because it happened on Sunday so nobody was there to rescue her.
Gieng said he made several requests to the local authority, asking them to build a new, safer bridge for the children, but they cited financial shortage.
