160 Meter Suspension Bridge In The Deep West Aceh Breaks

A 250-meter-long suspension bridge that stretches out two villages between Cot Punti Village, East Woyla District and Panton/ANTARA Village

ACEH - A 160-meter-long suspension bridge connecting two villages between Cot Punti Village, East Woyla District with Panton Village, Woyla District, West Aceh Regency, Friday afternoon at 15.30 WIB broke and fell into the river. "There were no casualties in this disaster, but the access of the people in our village was completely cut off," said Village Head (Keuchik) Gampong Cot Punti, East Woyla District, West Aceh Regency, Teuku Aidi who was contacted by ANTARA from Meulaboh, Friday, August 11. He said the suspension bridge, which was built in 2017, was suddenly broken. The suspension bridge that stretches over the Krueng Woyla river basin (DAS), West Aceh Regency. Teuku Aidi said that due to the breakdown of the bridge, hundreds of people in the interior had difficulty doing activities. The bridge has been the only closest access to marketing of garden products, palawija, and closest transportation access to the capital city of West Aceh Regency. "With the suspension bridge breaking, it is our people who want to go to Meulaboh, the capital city of West Aceh Regency must travel about 10 kilometers to the capital of Woyla Induk District, this is certainly very far away," he said. His party hopes that the damage to access to transportation will soon receive serious treatment from the West Aceh Regency Government. Teuku Aidi also said that he was reminded to have also reported the incident to the East Woyla sub-district head, West Aceh Regency, as the highest leader at the sub-district level. Head of the Aceh Baat District Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUPR), Dr Kurdi, said that his party had deployed a team to the location where the suspension bridge collapsed in Cot Punti Village, Woyla Timur District, which occurred on Friday afternoon. "The team is currently moving to the scene," said Dr Kurdi, who was contacted in Meulaboh, Friday. Kurdi said the team's deployment to the scene was an effort by the West Aceh Regency Government to quickly follow up on the damage to suspension bridges in remote areas.

His party has also received an order from the Acting Regent of West Aceh, Mahdi Efendi, to immediately identify the cause of the collapse of the suspension bridge.