People in a village in the northern central province of Thanh Hoa have used a dangerous pontoon bridge for 10 years.
Students have to cross the bridge every day
Coc Bridge, constructed with just four cement boats, bamboo and steel wires was constructed by residents in Hung Son Village, Tuong Van Commune, Nong Cong District.
Isolated from the commune centre and surrounded by mountains and the Yen River, people in Hung Son contributed money to construct the bridge to allow children to go to school.
Despite the large number of accidents, locals have no option to use the bridge or are forced to take a muddy road running to Tinh Gia District, said Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Party Secretary of Hung Son Village.
“People have to push their vehicles through the mud if they want to use the alternative,” Toan added.
The 50m long, 1m wide bridge, is constructed from four cement boats linked together with bamboo and steel wire.
“We recognise the danger, but have no choice. When it is rainy, we must to dismantle the bridge and locals have to cross the river by coracle. Each coracle carries some ten pupils. When the current is particularly strong, we use rafts to take the children to school,” said Toan.
Hung Son Village has over 100 households and since being put into use in 2000, nearly ten people have died due to accidents on the bridge. The latest death occurred in 2010. Mrs Nguyen Thi Tam drowned after slipping when taking her motorbike over the bridge.
Locals said it is common to see people fall off the bridge and those who cannot swim face a high risk of drowning in the seven-metre deep waters.
Hoang Cong Thi, Chairman of Tuong Van Commune People\'s Commitee, said, “Investment in a new bridge is out of the question. We proposed that district and provincial agencies help. The provincial People’s Committee approved a VND12.5 billion (USD598,086) project to build the bridge and planned to start it early 2010. However, due to Government Resolution 11, which curbed public expenditure, the project has been delayed.”
The dangerous bridge
The bridge shudders whenever used
Simple construction techniques
The bridge is held in place by four bamboo stakes
People are assigned to check the bridge everyday
