Another Pagoda Accident in Burma

An electric elevator crashed into a stairway inside a well-known Buddhist temple, Bawdi Ta Htaung monastery, in the central Burmese city of Monywa on Thursday, injuring five laypersons and two prominent Buddhist monks.

It was the second accident at a Buddhist temple in Burma within a week after the collapse of the ancient Danok Pagoda, south of Rangoon, on May 30, which killed some 20 construction workers and injured up to 150.

The incident in Monywa, some 136 kilometers northwest of Mandalay, occurred at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday when the temple lift experienced what is thought to be an electrical fault and plunged downward, colliding with the temple stairway. The eight persons who were in the elevator at the time were reportedly inspecting the country's tallest Buddha statue. One person in the lift, the head abbot of the monastery, was uninjured.

The two abbots who were injured in the accident were Ashin Sandar Dika and Yawainwe-Innma, both of whom were well-known for publishing books on society and religion. Both reportedly required surgery on their legs following the accident.

A local source told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the eight persons involved in the accident have been taken to a hospital in Mandalay.

The Buddha statue inside Bawdi Ta Htaung monastery stands at a height of 130 meters (425 feet) and was completed in 2007.

In superstitious Burma, the incident is sure to ignite rumors and intrigue after the mysterious collapse of Danok Pagoda just a few days before. Several sources have said that many people are taking the incidents to be omens and are openly questioning whether the collapse of the pagoda was related to the junta’s prosecution of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Meanwhile, the Burmese authorities have banned reports in the media about the collapse of the ancient pagoda.