http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/12-children-die-in-aceh-bridge-collapse/379311
June 07, 2010 Nurdin Hasan 12 Children Die in Aceh Bridge Collapse Banda Aceh. Twelve children died and 25 others were injured on Sunday after a government-built suspension bridge collapsed during a ceremony to ward off bad luck in southeastern Aceh. Ibnu Hasyim, the Gayo Lues district chief, said on Monday that Meloak Ilang village elders were releasing offerings into the Alas River after an outbreak of measles in the village, when a suspension cable came loose, hurling the children into the fast-moving water. "The ceremony to ward off bad luck has only brought disaster to the villagers. This is a test from Allah," Ibnu said. Most of the children, ages 6 to 12, could not swim and the river's current was particularly strong after days of heavy rain. "There were about 37 kids gathered together on the bridge when it collapsed," he said. "After the children rushed to one side of the bridge, it became unbalanced and the anchor of the suspension cable came undone. All of the children fell into the river." According to Ibnu, 25 children were rescued, and the injured were rushed to the community health center. None were suffering life-threatening injuries, but two children had sustained broken legs. Seven bodies were found downstream on Sunday, and five others were recovered on Monday. Ridwan G, the district's Indonesia Red Cross secretary, said that the bridge came undone after the children rushed to one side of it. "They wanted to watch the ceremony. Maybe because there were too many of them on one side, the cable linking the upper and under iron supports of the bridge came apart," he said. He said that his Red Cross chapter deployed a rescue team to the river, which is some 65 kilometers from the district capital of Blang Keujren, to scour the banks for survivors. Local residents said that the wooden suspension bridge was built by the government three years ago to link the village to crop fields across the river. Seasonal downpours cause annual flash flooding in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains. According to Unicef, drowning is one of the biggest killers of children in Southeast Asia, where fatality rates are up to 20 times higher than in Western countries.
