Suspension bridge collapse kills 8 children in Indonesia’s Aceh province; 5 still missing

Bridge collapse kills 8 children in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Eight children died when a suspension bridge collapsed in western Indonesia over the weekend, officials said Monday. Rescuers were searching for five others still missing.

Dozens of people were on the bridge in Aceh province watching a traditional ceremony intended to ward off disasters when it collapsed in six-feet (two-meter) high floodwaters triggered by heavy rains, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono.

Eight children between the ages of 6 and 13 were killed in Sunday’s disaster, said Muhammad Yusuf, chief of Aih Ilang village.

Seasonal downpours cause annual flash flooding in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.