Bridge collapses under weight of 500 devotees, 10 injured
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As Buddhists across the nation offered "Devorohana" alms marking the end of the Buddhist Lent Wednesday morning, tragedy struck in the northern province of Mae Hong Son. The "country's longest bamboo bridge" called Su Tong Pae or "fulfilled prayer"
Mae Hong Son Disaster Prevention and Mitigation chief Permwittaya Kantasong said people had gathered at the famous bridge to offer alms to 29 monks when the accident occurred. The 500-metre bridge across the Mae Sa Nga River, which links the Phusama Buddhist Meditation Park and Ban Kung Mai Sak, collapsed at 7.30am with some 500 people on it.
Two monks and eight laypersons were injured. One victim, 37-year-old Bangkok tourist Chatrit Jiranyapreuk, sustained brain injuries and had to be airlifted to the better-equipped Nakhonping Hospital in Chiang Mai province.
