Death railway museum in Myanmar to showcase historic life of war of prisoners

Death Railway Museum built at the site of the World War II Death Railway in Myanmar's Kayin state, will be inaugurated in April 2016 to showcase the historic life of war of prisoners who died during its construction, official media reported Monday.

The Death Railway Museum, located in Thanbyuzayat in the state and began construction in April last year, will display historic photos, painting, sculptures and 3D images connected with the death railway.

The museum highlights a coal-fired C-0522 engine, which was used in the death railway and the memorial place where the death railway line originated.

Thanbyuzayat graveyard is a place where several thousands of victims of the death railway were buried.

During the World War II, the Japanese invasion army forced more than 120,000 prisoners of war from alien countries and other Southeast Asian nations to build the 280-kilometer death railway linking Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar and Kanchananburi in Thailand.

More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the death railway.

With little or no medical care, the prisoners succumbed to sickness, malnutrition and exhaustion and died horribly at last. Endit