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| By israelinsider staff March 27, 2007 |
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Palestinian medical officials reported 10 deaths when the Gazan village of Umm Nasser was flooded with mud and sewage from a collapsed cesspool wall.
They said that there were at least 30 people were missing. The village's remaining 3,000 residents managed to escape or were evacuated by rescue teams. According to Ynetnews, residents of the village said more than 200 people were missing.
The hospital in Beit Lahiya reported that about 15 people were injured.
Palestinians reported that 70 percent of the houses were completely submerged in the sewage. Some 250 houses were affected by the sewage or damaged.
The Palestinian Red Crescent distributed tents to the displaced and Hamas rescue crews and gunmen search for people who were buried under the flood.
Angry Palestinians attacked the rescue crews and the Palestinian Interior Minister Hani Al Qawasmi's convoy.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed the IDF to assist the Palestinians and told the army to prepare for the possibility of evacuating the victims to hospitals in Israel.
Abu Issam, an Umm Naser council member, told Ynet, "This is a terrible disaster that caused the collapse of the systems in the entire village. We call on all institutions and organizations in the Palestinians Authority and outside the Palestinian Authority to provide us with urgent assistance. Hundreds of people will find themselves without a roof over their heads by the end of the day."
The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear. Palestinian Environment Minister, Dr. Yousef Safia, blamed Israel for the flooding, claiming that Israel had threatened to bomb construction on a modern sewage system if they began working on the project.
However, Kawash of The Water Authority said Gaza's poor infrastructure was to blame for the accident. He said, "We had a project to treat sewage in north Gaza, it was worked on for two years. We built a pressure pipeline and pumping station. But it was stopped after ... troubles began," The Jerusalem Post reported.
Amina Afif, 65, told Ynetnews her shack in the village had been destroyed. She said, "We lost everything, everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster." |
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