Bridge over River Kwai+Hell fire pass Kanchanaburi Thailand

The Bridge spans across Maenam Khwae Yai which is a branch of Maenam Mae Klong. During the Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army brought the iron bridge from Java. It was then resembled by Allied Prisoners of War (POW) under Japanese supervision. The bridge was part of a strategic railway route to Myanmar in which the Japanese aimed to secure supplies with which to conquer other western Asian countries. It was 415 kilometers long (about 303 kilometers in Thailand and about 112 kilometers in Burma ) and passed through the Three Pagoda Pass in Sangkhlaburi District, the northern most part of Kanchanaburi province.
Construction started on September 16, 1942 at Nong Pladuk , and was completed on 25 December 1943. It is estimated that over 16,000 POWs from England , Australia , Holland and America died while building the bridge which was a target of bombing raids in 1945. In addition to this, approximate 90,000 laborers from Thailand , Myanmar , Malaysia and Indonesia died during its construction.

Hell Fire Pass Memorial Museum is a part of the Death Railway that was constructed during the Second World War using POW labor to cut through the mountain. The site is located in a thick forest near Km. 66 of the Sai Yok-Thong Pha Phum Road (Highway No. 323). Along a 4-kilometer walking trail made by the Allied prisoners visitors can envision the difficulties faced in constructing the Death Railway using simple tools. The pass is approximately 500 meters long and 26 meters deep. In 1943 Australian POWs employing hand drills, picks and shovels, baskets and dynamite completed it within six weeks.