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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Sewage flood leaves dead in Gaza | Sewage flood leaves dead in Gaza |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| At least four people have been killed after a sewage treatment pool collapsed and flooded a village in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said. | |
| The earth wall gave way in the village of Umm al-Naser in northern Gaza, submerging at least 25 houses. | |
| About 25 people are reported hurt but scores more are unaccounted for. The village has a population of 3,000. | About 25 people are reported hurt but scores more are unaccounted for. The village has a population of 3,000. |
| Residents said the flood was like a "tsunami" and Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmeh has rushed to the scene. | Residents said the flood was like a "tsunami" and Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmeh has rushed to the scene. |
| The BBC's Katya Adler, in Jerusalem, said angry residents crowded around Mr Qawasmeh when he came to inspect the damage. | The BBC's Katya Adler, in Jerusalem, said angry residents crowded around Mr Qawasmeh when he came to inspect the damage. |
| Reports say shots were fired, forcing the minister and his entourage to flee the village, although it is unclear where the gunfire came from. | Reports say shots were fired, forcing the minister and his entourage to flee the village, although it is unclear where the gunfire came from. |
| Investigation | Investigation |
| Health ministry officials said the dead included a four-year-old boy and a 70-year-old woman. | Health ministry officials said the dead included a four-year-old boy and a 70-year-old woman. |
| Militants from the Hamas group and rescuers were helping to find those thought buried in the sewage. | Militants from the Hamas group and rescuers were helping to find those thought buried in the sewage. |
| The Israeli army said it would also help - although it is not yet known whether Palestinian officials accepted the offer. | |
| Village council head Ziad Abu Farya told the Associated Press news agency the scene was "our tsunami". | Village council head Ziad Abu Farya told the Associated Press news agency the scene was "our tsunami". |
| One villager, Amina Afif, said: "We lost everything, everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster." | One villager, Amina Afif, said: "We lost everything, everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster." |
| The cause of the collapse is still unknown, although aid agencies and the UN had warned of the risk of a flood as far back as 2004. | |
| Officials from the Palestinian Water Authority are at the scene investigating. | |
| Aid boycott | |
| Authority head Fadel Kawash told AP several sewage projects, including one in the village, had been halted after international funding dried up in the wake of the election victory of Hamas in January last year. | Authority head Fadel Kawash told AP several sewage projects, including one in the village, had been halted after international funding dried up in the wake of the election victory of Hamas in January last year. |
| "We had a project to treat sewage in north Gaza, it was worked on for two years," he said. | "We had a project to treat sewage in north Gaza, it was worked on for two years," he said. |
| "We built a pressure pipeline and pumping station but it was stopped after... troubles began." | "We built a pressure pipeline and pumping station but it was stopped after... troubles began." |
| Hamas also blamed the flood on the withdrawal of foreign aid. | |
| But Stuart Shepherd, the UN's humanitarian aid officer in Gaza, said the Umm al-Naser plant had not been affected by the aid boycott. | |
| A UN report in 2004 had warned that the sewage facility was at its maximum capacity, and flooding was inevitable unless a new waste treatment plant was constructed. | |
| Mr Shepherd said foreign investment had been secured to build the treatment plant, but construction had not gone ahead because of security risks in the area. | |
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