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

YANGON - A Death Railway Museum, located at the site of the World War II "Death Railway" in Myanmar's Kayin state, is opening to showcase the life of prisoners of war who died during the construction of the railway, official media reported Sunday.

The museum, originally scheduled to be inaugurated in April, will instead open on Monday, to coincide with the country's Independence Day.

The museum will exhibit historic photos, paintings, sculptures and 3D images related to the death railway. It also highlights a coal-fired C-0522 engine, which was used on the death railway, and a memorial place where the railway line originated.

During the war, the Imperial Japanese Army forced more than 120,000 Allied prisoners of war and laborers from Southeast Asian countries to build the railway linking Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar and Kanchanaburi in Thailand.

More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the railway. Several thousand who died were buried at the Thanbyuzayat graveyard.

With little or no medical care, the prisoners succumbed to sickness, malnutrition and exhaustion and died in a horrible condition.