ช่องเขาขาด | |
Established | 24 April 1996 |
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Location | Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand |
Coordinates | 14°21′19″N 98°57′09″E / 14.35528°N 98.95250°E |
Type | War memorial, nature trail & abandoned railway line |
Curator | Office of Australian War Graves/Royal Thai Armed Forces |
Public transit access | Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi railway station (18 km (11 mi) away) |
Hellfire Pass (Thai: ช่องเขาขาด, known by the Japanese as Konyu Cutting) is the name of a railway cutting on the former Burma Railway ("Death Railway") in Thailand, which was built with forced labour during the Second World War. More than 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians and 12,000 Allied soldiers built the railway line, including Hellfire Pass. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. It was called Hellfire Pass because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring by burning torchlight resembled a scene from Hell.[1]