'Pupils were jumping, playing on bridge before collapse'

2009/10/27

KAMPAR, Tues: Between 30 and 50 pupils were on a newly built suspension bridge when it collapsed last night into the swift-flowing Kampar River at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Dipang near here, causing one pupil to drown and two more are still missing.

A pupil, K. Mathivanan, 12, who held onto a rope and saved himself, said the bridge collapsed all of a sudden, about 10.30pm.

He said some of the pupils were crossing the bridge towards the school for their dinner, while others were returning to the campsite.

He said the bridge had swayed a lot before it collapsed as several of the pupils were jumping about and playing with one another.

"All of a sudden, we found ourselves thrown into the river. I managed to hold on to a rope. The current was swift but I managed to drag myself out of the water," he said.

Mathivanan said joy turned to panic as many of the pupils started screaming for help while others just cried.

K. Mathivanan, 12, who held onto a rope and saved himself, said bridge had swayed a lot before it collapsed as several of the pupils were jumping about and playing with one another.

He was one of the 298 pupils from 60 primary schools in Kampar, Tronoh and Batu Gajah who were to have begun a 1Malaysia Camp co-curriculum activity organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Department there.

The bridge, above 50 metres long, was built about two weeks ago to replace an old one which had collapse, said a member of the school's Parent-Teacher Association.

The bridge links the campsite to the Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Dipang where dinner was held for the pupils.

A teacher, Mohd Safri Abdul Rafar, said he was not far from the bridge when it collapsed and quickly jumped over a fence and dived into the river in the attempt to rescue the pupils. -- Bernama

A picture of newly-built suspension after it was completed a few days before the collapse.

The suspension bridge (under construction) was being built to replace an old one which had collapsed.