Close-up of a seriously degraded bridge in Quynh Luu (Nghe An)

After 14 years of construction, the bridge across the Thai River has seriously degraded. Photo: Viet Hung

This 40m long, 1m wide bridge was built by the people of Quynh Dien and Quynh Hung communes in 2005. Currently, the bridge has degraded, causing difficulties for people's daily travel, especially during the rainy season, when the bridge can collapse at any time.

On this bridge, apart from the broken railing system that fell into the river, the remaining railings are also useless because they are cracked and tilted on both sides. Photo: Viet Hung

The bridge is long but only 1 meter wide, while the railing system that ensures safety is broken. This is the cause of a number of cases of people falling into the river and drowning.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, in Hamlet 1, Quynh Hung Commune, said: “Since the bridge has deteriorated, there have been dozens of cases of people falling into the river while crossing the bridge; including 3 cases that resulted in 3 deaths due to drowning. Recently, on the 29th of Lunar New Year 2019, Ms. Pham Thi Ky (Hamlet 1, Quynh Dien Commune) and her young child Ho Khanh An (5 years old) were riding a motorbike across the bridge when they lost control and fell into the Thai River. As a result, Ho Khanh An was swept away by the water and died.”

People have to “hold their breath” every time they cross the monkey bridge. The most dangerous thing is when participating in traffic at night. Photo: Viet Hung

Every day, hundreds of people cross this bridge. To make a living, people accept to risk their lives when crossing the bridge even though they know it is very dangerous.

Recently, the People's Committees of Quynh Dien and Quynh Hung communes submitted a proposal to the province and district asking for support for investment capital to build the bridge, but there has been no response. On the local side, due to limited commune budget conditions, while rebuilding the bridge requires a large amount of money, they are "powerless". Without this bridge, the travel and business needs of hundreds of households would be very inconvenient, they would have to travel about 12 km, while the bridge across the river shortens the distance to only 1 km.

Mr. Phan Trung Thien - Chairman of People's Committee of Quynh Hung commune, Quynh Luu district