Deadliest Roads | Madagascar | Free Documentary

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the Sun is pitiless in Madagascar and to avoid the worst of the heat the day begins early in the town of Maron chesh [Music] by 6:00 a.m. Stefan's local bush taxi is already fully booked nearly nothing he's an Emily no every week he takes the road to tomat are the country's second city it's a primitive root that severely tests the vehicle suspension and every kilo counts Stefan charges extra for any excess luggage everyone on board fitting everyone into the back is a real headache will make room for everyone everyone will get on soon if we can organize ourselves with a summer getting off for the next town alley my license says 4:15 passengers but there's more 19 no 20 maybe I need them because there's a lot of sliding about and each passenger has some rope which they pull that's why there will be a need for some strong arms only four-wheel drive vehicles can tackle the m5 national route five one of the most challenging in Madagascar the 20 passengers can look forward to a testing journey once on the open road what lies ahead becomes abundantly clear [Music] there are a few bumps huge pot holds but this is a four-wheel-drive jinyoung I love it when my SUV slides about sitcom I love my wife and I love my work that's applauding damn I slid you feel that I'm gonna accelerate and then you'll feel the road yeah it's a bit shaky passengers on the padded seats have paid a little more but they suffer no less than those crammed in the back everyone gets carsick I'm sick my stomach hurts I need to go to the toilet [Music] one uncomfortable hour later and the road claims its first victims she can't take it she needs to throw up so that's why she's getting off [Music] ahead lies 250 kilometers of dirt track situated in the Indian Ocean Madagascar is almost the size of Texas and its route network has not been improved since independence more than 50 years ago the n54 example that connects Marin chesh to Tamar TAV I think we'll have fun we're gonna be dancing where's that road [Music] bridges dancing [Music] I hate this road we'll never get there I can't take it anymore the n5 or rather the dirt-track winds its way through breathtaking countryside but the postcard images are under threat the forest has been pillaged for its valuable wood in particular rosewood we know it's illegal but we have to live somehow it takes nine days to bring back one of the trunks some weigh as much as 500 kilos the trunk moves at a huge speed if it hits us we're dead for sure laid it still alive after hurtling down the mountainside the wood is then transported on makeshift rafts the force of the current has killed more than one guy transporting words on the other side of the country another treasure attracts the poor sapphires no bed and any one pot we don't have a single penny thousands dig away all with the same dreams I find a sapphire and become a millionaire the promise of a better life might be lying just under their feet fifty meters down we run the risk of being killed just for some stones many will never find even the smallest sapphire and it's collapsing you're gonna kill us all deep in the last primeval jungles of Madagascar lies the small village of tendrá the nearest shop is a day's canoe ride away but the locals aren't too concerned they are self-sufficient living from hunting fishing and agriculture they use money to buy tools clothes or ammunition the problem is getting it without taking any risks it'll be a fantastic adventure very difficult but you just need to prepare for it it'll be exhausting we'll cross the river we'll climb rocks and walk through the forest mustn't forget the food we won't survive in the forest otherwise come guys get your bags ready Robert age 39 is one of the few villagers who ever had a proper job he used to be a forest ranger he protected the forests from those seeking to plunder its precious woods but four years ago he was fired the gamekeeper turned poacher is now a smuggler of rosewood it's a rare tree much valued by the Chinese and we found out that rosewood was selling for a good price we started cutting some so we could start earning a living again ahead lies a nine-day journey during which they'll play hide and seek with the police the tree is so much in demand that it's close to extinction and has been officially protected for the past three years come on let's step on it [Music] and anything on the job my whole body's straining the arms the legs will need a lot of energy come on push harder it's not only smugglers that are looking for rosewood bugs have also been attracted to the forest this road is dangerous passengers have been attacked here anything can happen but it's the only way to get through the local bureaucrats I've never agreed to build a road for cars they wanted to stop the traffic of Rosalind their mind out carrying packs weighing 50 kilos and their foot they now face a cliff [Music] [Applause] [Music] after our heroine today March the group spot other traffickers Robert is concerned they may have felled the last of the rosewood trees music there's still some wood left yes you'll find some I don't need to go too far from the river though right no I'm not far let's see if we can find some good luck to you safe travels fun to nail use me from when Lila all know it's illegal and it's perfect but we really need to make a living everything is so expensive here school for kids feeding them medicine [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the next morning they hope to find a huge rosewood trade the beaches on this part of the island are heavenly but there are no tourists no travel agency would risk having their clients travel along such an exhausting and dangerous road the bridge for example has never been properly repaired so we're not gonna be able to cross this this is no good no one left to go around it right away thank the back of my vehicle was in the water the up in the air see it's what Stefan would rather not tempt fate and so drives across the river so as not to sink too deep he asks his passengers to get out [Applause] I ask them to step out because it's it's not safe I've had enough of this trip I'm exhausted [Music] according to the authorities the road is in deliberately poor condition to hinder the transport of precious woods if the road were flat the smugglers would use large trucks they say it's an effective weapon but it also slows down the entire region's economy every bridge is a test a bridge is rather worrying it's been repaired but not properly and when you're on it bounces around like crazy but it's risky but some vehicles nevertheless do try to stefan's an amusement well I've got a feeling we'll have some farm they'll be dancing mr. fan prefers to take the ferry it's less risky he claims I'm not going on that bridge during an earlier journey one of the planks in the bridge collapsed under his wheels causing one of Stefan's passengers to be seriously injured when he fell out ever since Stefan has preferred crossing on this makeshift ferry but the slightest mistake will cost him dearly our warning was it oh you want me to fall in the water so time was too slow getting on board the raft the luggage at the backhoe gets soaked Reverse I'm too far ahead already [Music] then damn it will be really late now the whole engine is in the water there a job done the journey may end here Stefan isn't sure how to get his vehicle out after six days in the depths of the forest Robert and his men have found their treasure if they can get this rosewood tree out they should make enough money to see them through the next four to six months a trunk can fetch as much as five thousand dollars which way should we chop it down that way lots of trees here and we complicated but let's try that way the trees grow extremely slowly and take at least 100 years to fully develop looking at this tree I would say it was 50 or 60 years old I cut through the bark like this and lift up the light apart here in the heart of the tree if it's rose-colored it means it's a good tree [Music] [ __ ] easy just one more swing of the axe it takes one hour to chop down the giant worth its weight in gold but this one will play a nasty trick got a slight problem the tree hasn't fallen completely over it's stuck in the branches of the other trees around it we've got to find a way to bring it down the only way to bring it down is to chop down the trees around it it's estimated that for every 100,000 precious trees that are chopped down another 500,000 are sacrificed in this way all we want is the rosewood tree but now we need to cut down a dozen maybe more other trees there's no choice when it's like this stuck the task is enormous and Robert changes tactics just cut the trunk at this height and that way the other part where it's caught will also come straight down [Music] chopping the tree at that height is increasingly difficult the men will need to sweat to earn their money we'll take it in turns we need everyone to pitch in this will take a while yet for hours the men pass the axe around the heat is over berry [Music] the homemade axe is broken apart one of the blades slid down the handle and hit my finger hurts but I'll be okay sometimes the blade hits your head or your legs you get seriously hurt there's no medicine applies we treat it with the resin from the rosewood tree we use the bark to make a bandage Thank You rosewood tree after four hours the first part of the trunk gives way but the branches are still trapping the top of the tree they trying to pull it down by force [Music] but after another six hours Robert decides to give up without the rest of the tree trunk it won't bring in much money okay it's over their dream of money has evaporated and they'll have to start looking all over again but it's like a needle in a haystack since the tree has become so rare at the one hundred and ten kilometers stage defens taxi resembles a shipwreck this vehicle has been floundering for several hours there's no tow truck in this region and no other SUV in sight the passengers are increasingly frustrated come on let's get the car out first and then we'll see about the rest of the trip there's only one solution to get them on the road again you'll have to pull come on all of you we need as much help as possible [Music] without a word of complaints and as if this was completely normal a dozen or so passengers act as the tow truck but it's all in vain their vehicle filled with water weighs several tons so I can never be sure of anything it all depends on the road see what's happened to us what can we do just wait and trust in the driver after two hours of hard work a stroke of luck the bridge just has to survive the crossing of the SUV [Applause] [Music] the driver of the SUV understandably lets Stefan do the maneuvering how's that look I'm going [Applause] [Applause] stop stop stop [Music] in this neck of the woods mechanics are rare and Stephane has learned the basics by carrying out his own repairs after every break down but after waits for all the water to drain out of the engine and I'm worried about the gearbox we'll need to unscrew everything and wait for it to dry the first try and water comes shooting out of the engine try the ignition yeah the fuels leaking out I'll stop yep Stefan will cross the bridge this time his faith convinces him that the hand of God where we strike him again you're not scared the bridge might collapse God will decide but since he's already made me go in here he's not going to make me fall off the bridge isn't your car too heavy fall off the bridge it's not the same thing it's God's will whatever happens [Music] [Music] [Music] the heavens are merciful this time and no one on the ground is upset at Stefan faith helps the malla Ghazis get through life usually with a smile you're gonna get your ass wet the accident has cost them five hours in less time Stephan hopes the water hasn't damaged the engine too much and that it will hold out for the rest of the trip otherwise you'll have to reimburse everyone after 10 days Robert and his men still haven't found a rosewood tree that's big enough running out of supplies they need to head home but not empty-handed a few months earlier the Army had chased the smugglers and they had had to abandon a tree trunk looking for the trunk of a rosewood tree then we hid in the forest what's ready we cut it down some time ago they had hoped to take out several of this one trunk will enable them to survive for a few months the trunk weighs about 400 kilos transporting wood principally depends on the length of the rope when they could not take care the ropes too short you're too close to the trunk and moving it you can injure yourself using it takes two people one in the middle and one behind adjust the ropes you need to be parallel otherwise the trunk will slide all over the place we don't want the trying to make me fall I'll let go of it if I have to the trunk needs to be taken to the river 30 kilometers away moving downhill can be dangerous if the men's legs get snared in the rope you'll miss squash me when you let go of the rope like that [Music] the trunk could hit you because it moves so quickly and that's certain death it happened to one of my friends he was hit in the back unfortunately he was killed someone dies we hold awake in the camp never loved and then we arranged for them to be sent home we fold the body in two so it can fit into a rice sack racket this way guys not too fast two people on each side no one knows for sure how many are killed in the process of smuggling precious wood Robert estimates there at least 3 fatalities a year in the stretch we need to move the wood along in the water it's not easy since the watch is quite deep and if the wood falls into one of the holes it's hard work getting it out the guys would need to dive under get it on stop I swear you need a magic formula here the waterfall marks the end of the mountain the men have now covered one-third of the journey [Applause] made it we're still alive exhausted they'll spend the night here in their wet clothes all of them are hurting after the day's exertions now it's physically demanding but when I think of the money it makes me feel better the other jobs in my region don't pay higher as well before despite their sake nights Robert and his companions have lost none of their determination it's taken nearly 30 hours to reach the river but the trip isn't over yet ahead there are still the Rapids smuggling is not the only extreme way to make a living on the island others take even more risks to survive the island nation is blessed with natural resources such as spices vanilla precious woods and one other that is the dream of many locals they were discovered only 10 years ago some people have found wealth others only misery or even death it's all a matter of luck when it comes to sapphires [Music] the mines are a Tila caca the area resembles a desert than the river that runs through it has become muddy from the millions of cubic meters of Earth the miners have sifted in fording the river our vehicle has got stuck in a water hole we need to get it out of that if it continues to rain the waters will swallow up the car it will take considerable patience to see where the cable can be attached underneath the car in these muddy waters come let's pull [Music] the mining town of Ensor sprang up in just a few months attracted by the myth of easy money more than ten thousand people now live crammed together in extreme poverty most of the stones they dig up are worth just a few dollars however a very large pure sapphire can fetch anything up to five or six thousand dollars more than 40 times Madagascar's average wage never money they make they rarely hang on to for long [Music] brothers backhoe and Massey used to be farmers they left their miserable job hoping to strike it lucky and build themselves a big house but their entire fortune for now is the small cabin just five square meters which the two families share with their wives and children seven people there's no bed it's just one cooking pot one bowl one terrine one basin and this is the only sheep we don't have enough money let's wage isn't enough sometimes there isn't even one penny wait until God sees fit to give us a large the brothers work for a miner who owns this mine their pay is less than $2 a day they do find a stone they get a percentage on the sale 7:00 in the morning then we take a break about 2:00 but every day we dig out about 25 sack loads of Earth sometimes we work right up until 7:00 in the evening as soon as we get home we fall straight asleep the Malagasy say hell is deep in the bowels of the earth to the miners begins less than 30 meters below ground [Music] the two brothers and other workers move around in galleries often just sixty centimetres five stones very hard that's good I think I can break it the crowbars broken well I'll carry on anyway sacks up with the dirt if we find nothing it's because God doesn't want us to we must beg him to help this rat's nest is like an oven with a constant temperature of 40 degrees the heat saps the strength of the miners who dream of a better future head down if you want to get through being a miner also means being a contortionist there's a lot of dead around here working tyrants dangerous vision fantasy drain many of us have died because of the earth collapsing it's perfect no from the lack of oxygen difficult 30 meters below ground oxygen is scarce none of the mine owners can afford a proper ventilation system fresh air is provided by the men's and Genuity it's basic but it works and above all costs virtually nothing [Music] the problem is the tube is barely 25 meters long and doesn't reach where Paco and Marcia working I'm not gonna get knee yeah what's happening with the airpipe my farm a top down here way too hot [Music] it's difficult to work like this thirsty well send us some water Jana turns out the last bag yes it's the last and the last bag almost cost them their lives [Music] Jeffords caving in I'm gonna kill all of us here take these bits of wood [Music] a life fraught with danger and all for less than $2 a day Stefan and his passengers have reached the halfway stage and his SUV seems to be holding up despite three hours under water at the last river crossing the engine appears to be working well and it seems Stefan knows how to care for his vehicle everybody off at the slightest risk he wants the car to be as light as possible to avoid straining the engine [Music] I hate this road we'll never get there I can't stand it anymore this time the ferry is more modern the state doesn't maintain the roads but it does subsidize the ferries which are free or less to earn little extra the ferryman sells off the fuel he's given for his boat when there's non left he taxes his clients [Music] [Music] [Applause] I'm collecting fuel we need to give some fuel in return for the ride all the SUVs give a little attend attended you don't give them then you will be able to live before arriving at a Matar there are another seven ferry crossings like this one and most from the same scam the voyage is exhausting never-ending I suppose got a problem my friends half a dozen cars have stopped the tree has fallen across the road and not by chance someone cut it down didn't just fall like that what's that mean it means they did it deliberately maybe they want to make a canoe I don't care how they cut it down but now it's blocking a road someone was apt to steal the tree to turn it into a canoe they must have been surprised so they abandoned it Stefan is worried getting stuck here overnight means he'll have to pay for his passengers food and lodging he takes charge to go under given the height of some of the vehicles they'll need to dig deep calm guys will take it in turns so I'm getting tired we need some alcohol there's still a lot of work to do you know they've been digging for two hours and the task appears impossible Providence arrives in the shape of these vehicles things will move along quickly now the wood is soft planning dying quite yet [Music] I hope you get that tomorrow have a good trip Stefan will arrive at his destination just 36 hours behind schedule due mainly to the accident in the river but none of his passengers will ask to be reimbursed this is the last leg of the journey for Robert and his man and probably the most dangerous shooting the rapids with the trunk attached to some inner tubes two men are in charge of the makeshift raft if they fall overboard 400 kilos of rose wood will fall on top of them Janelle is the pilot on a probe I know the river I'm not afraid of it the current is strong and has drowned more than one man transporting wood but i've naturally gifted i can master nature [Music] [Music] after the first Rapids you know dismisses his copilot who apparently isn't being much help if our son shooting the rapids on these tubes is my speciality I'm an expert in pneumatic transportation somebody left right there today the raft is virtually uncontrollable a rock has shattered his panel and he uses his hands to slow down the raft [Music] the waters abate and genore can look for another paddle to remain focused on my delivering the wood it's taken five hours to travel downriver [Music] the others will now take the wood as far as the coast once the Trancas in the canoe it just needs to be hidden we're putting our bags on top so that no one can see what we've got here we mustn't get caught by the police smuggling is endangering the forests of Madagascar the authorities like for means to stop the trade and in recent weeks three thousand rosewood logs have been seized in the region [Music] you you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Rating: 4.7597733 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest roads madagascar, dangerous roads madagascar, most dangerous roads madagascar, dangerous madagascar, dicing with death madagascar, deadliest journeys madagascar

Id: QKrlsCVHwWA

Length: 49min 14sec (2954 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 15 2020