A Palestinian was killed and another one was injured while four went missing on Sunday in an explosion under the border line between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, rescue workers and witnesses said.

Conflicting accounts after the blast said that the Egyptian security forces blew up several tunnels used by Palestinians to bring goods into Gaza, while other witnesses said that a fuel leak ended up with the explosion of the pipeline.

The incident took place in southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. The civil defense and emergency crews said that four other workers went missing in the wake of the blast.

Since Israel imposed a siege on Gaza in 2007, the Palestinians resorted to smuggling foods and a wide array of goods, including fuel and livestock, from Egypt via underground tunnels.

Tens of peoples, including children under the age of 16, who worked inside the tunnels, have been killed in accidents including suffocation, collapse or Egyptian detonations.

Local rights groups have called on Hamas, the Islamic movement which controls Gaza, to monitor the tunnels and prevent children employment there, as well as take more restrictions to reduce casualties.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2009)