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Palestinian worker dies in tunnel collapse on Gaza-Egypt border

Xinhua, February 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Palestinian worker died Monday when a tunnel collapsed on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, a Palestinian security official said.

Gaza police spokesman Eyad al-Bozom told Xinhua that a smuggling tunnel collapsed west of Rafah city on the border with Egypt, killing a 23-year-old worker who was inside.

The collapse occurred due to water pumping by the Egyptian army into the earth, Al-Bozom said, adding that 22 other tunnels had collapsed on the border, cutting off movement of Palestinians in the area.

Palestinian security officials said that Egypt has been pumping sea water into pools along the border with Gaza and into the earth since September last year, in order to destroy all underground tunnels.

The move was condemned by the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules Gaza, as a dangerous step that will likely affect the underground water and put some Palestinian houses at risk.

Gaza tunnels were used as an alternative route for human and goods movement after Israel besieged the Strip following the seizure of the enclave by Hamas in 2007.

Egypt has taken measures to destroy the tunnels on the border since mid-2013, citing anti-terror considerations. Endit