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Yangon, May 21 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Myanmar will restore a 105-km section of the notorious "Death Railway" to Thailand which was built by Japanese-held prisoners of war during World War II, it was announced here. Some 13,000 prisoners of wars (POWs) and 100,000 civilian forced labourers had perished after being forced to work in inhuman conditions to build the 424-km railroad between 1942 and 1943. The rail link, which connected Myanmar with Thailand, was destroyed by Allied bombers in 1945. Myanmar's Railway Minister Aung Min said "other countries" will help when work on the railroad starts in October. The railway will provide a much needed economic boost for Myanmar's Three Pagodas Pass area and help attract tourists, officials say. The construction of a bridge along the link over the Kwai river was made famous by the novel and film "The Bridge on the River Kwai". --IANS/RIA Novosti sd/dg
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