Two ancient Cham towers in the UNESCO-recognized My Son Sanctuary in central Vietnam have leaned and sunk to an alarming extent, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said Tuesday on its website, citing the relic’s management agency. 

According to Nguyen Cong Khiet, vice head of the relic’s management board, the B3 and B5 towers have sustained increasingly worrying damage.

The serious deterioration requires immediate attention to save the towers from leaning further or even collapsing, and help them brace for future storms.

The two towers, which were on the brink of collapse late last year, showed signs of further decay, erosion, and cracking late last week.

Khiet added that an inspection by the site management indicated that the two towers have incurred the most extensive damage of any of the structures at My Son.

They are deepening their examination and preparing conservation proposals.  

Many of the relic’s towers have incurred wide cracks, sinking, and erosion for more than 10 years now.

The My Son Sanctuary dates from the 4th to the 13th centuries, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Center.

It is located in Duy Phu Commune, Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province.

Its tower clusters were constructed over ten consecutive centuries in what then was the heart of the Champapura kingdom.

The towers of the My Son Sanctuary are the most significant constructions of the My Son civilization. They boast a wide variety of architectural designs, and were built of fired brick and decorated with sandstone bas-reliefs which depict Hindu mythology.

Several groups of experts from other countries, such as Poland and Japan, have arrived at the site to conduct research and look for solutions to preserve the towers and the site as a whole.

Restoration of the G Tower cluster, one of the key clusters at the sanctuary, by a group of Italian architects began in 1997 and was completed early last year.

The restored towers were opened to the public in late June 2013.

Earlier this year, a group of Indian experts also surveyed the site at length in search of preservation and restoration solutions.

My Son has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site since 1999.

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