Hellfire Pass, Kanchanaburi
This is one of the hardest segments in the “Death Railway”.
This segment required deep carving into hard rock using manual tools, the hard work, harsh conditions and Japanese cruelty led to the death of many POWs and labor workers in this segment.
A collaboration of the Australian and Thai governments led to the establishment of a memorial site that includes a museum and a walking path, leading to the quarrying area. The site is meticulously handled and the small museum holds a lot of information about the area and the prisoners of war. The walking path -around an hour there and back- is very convenient and well marked.
The Thai name of the pass is Chong Khao Khat, and is called Konyu Cutting by the Japanese. The name Hellfire Pass was given to the place due to the fact the work was done around the clock, even at night. The bamboo torches, carbide lamps and the sounds of tools pounding into the rock gave the place a look that resembles Hell.
As mentioned before, this segment required the hardest carving, 17 meters deep and 110 meters long, through very hard rock, and all done with manual tools.
The job was assigned to a group of 400 Australian POWs. Later, an additional group of 600 British and Australian POWs joined the work. The workers were forced to work 18 straight hours and in very harsh conditions.
The work began on the 25th of April 1943 and ended within only 6 weeks.
During the labor, the Japanese beat 69 POWs to death and many more died of exhaustion, hunger and diseases.
In memory of these Australian and British POWs, that gave their life while working on the railway, the memorial was founded, and it includes the museum, a viewpoint and a walking path about 4km long.
Arrival: Hellfire Pass is found on route 323, some 80km from the town of Kanchanaburi.
Activity Hours: The museum and the site are open everyday from 9:00 in the morning till 4:00 in the afternoon.
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