Tunnel collapse kills smuggler
2008-03-12 15:14
El-Arish - An underground tunnel collapsed early on Wednesday near Egypt's border with the Gaza strip, burying alive one smuggler and injuring another, said a security official.
Palestinian smuggler Mohammed el-Bashiti and five others had nearly finished expanding the 600-metre tunnel from Gaza into Egypt located 10 metres beneath the ground, after the ceiling gave way, said the official.
According to the official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, el-Bashiti precipitated the collapse of the tunnel's sandy ceiling after he pushed a pole through to the surface in effort to show his accomplices, where the tunnel ended.
The tunnel, which stretched from the al-Salam district on the Palestinian side and ended in Rafah's Canada neighbourhood on the Egyptian side, was an old one the smugglers were attempting to renovate.
Electric tools, lamps and other equipment were also buried, the official said, adding that the five other smugglers managed to escape including the injured one.
Palestinian smugglers used tunnels to bring weapons and contraband goods into Gaza from Egypt. Israel said anti-tank missiles, tons of explosives and thousands of rifles had reached militants in Gaza through the tunnels.
- AP