Schoolchildren have to cross an alligator-infested river on a terrifying zipline to attend class every day.
Several students could be seen using their bare hands to travel across the fast-moving water while strapped into a harness and pulley.
One pupil appears frozen in fear above the rapids below before being encouraged to complete her journey by the camerawoman.
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A bridge that used to span the river – full of gators – was destroyed in a landslide about six years ago, according to local media.
Since then, the authorities have been promising a new structure, but it has yet to materialise.
As a result, pupils have to cross the Chicamocha River, in northern Colombia, by the perilous pulley system.
Earlier this year, a court ruled that local councils in the area had to provide a minimum of two-months training to the students on how to use the zipline safely.
This did not go down well with local Marco Antonio Velásquez who was furious with the ruling.
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He called on the authorities to “implement a contingency plan that allows for the construction of a temporary structure to replace the current pulley system.”
It is unclear when the new bridge will be built.
Meanwhile, in Villa Leidy near Santa Marta in Colombia, more than 70 schoolkids risk their lives to get to class when they have to cross the Gaira River using a rickety water pipe and rope acting as a makeshift bridge.
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The water below is infested with caimans, which are mini alligators.
The pipe also supplies the community of 300 people with running water.
Families have been calling on the authorities to build a new bridge since the one they constructed themselves collapsed in July last year.
Concerned mother Dorisa Fadul told local media: “The children run the risk of being swept away by the river because they don’t have a decent bridge to cross.”
The authorities have not yet given residents a timeframe of when they plan to install the new bridge, as reported by What’s the Jam.
Until then, the risky crossing for the kids will continue – and just a stone’s throw from nearby El Rodadero, where tourists flock to one of the country’s most popular beach resorts.
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