You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza-Egypt smuggling tunnel collapses
2008-03-12
An underground tunnel collapsed early Wednesday near Egypt's border with the Gaza strip, burying alive one smuggler and injuring another, a security official said.
oops
Palestinian smuggler Mohammed el-Bashiti and five others had nearly finished expanding the 600 meter tunnel from Gaza into Egypt located 10 meters beneath the ground, when 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 when he pushed a pole through to the surface in an effort to show his accomplices where the tunnel ended.
"Hey Achmed! Hamzi! It's . . . right. . .

. . . Rosebud"

The tunnel, which stretched from the al-Salam district on the Palestinian side and ended in Rafah's Canada neighborhood on the Egyptian side, was an old one the smugglers were attempting to renovate.
curtains? check.
wallpaper? check.
Lay-Z-Boy? check.
framed Death-to-Jews needlepoint? check.
no pictures of mohammed? check.
support timbers?
support timbers?
anyone?
Bueller?

Electric tools, lamps and other equipment were also buried right alongside Mahmoud, the official said, adding that the five other smugglers managed to escape, including the injured one.

Palestinian smugglers use tunnels to bring weapons and contraband goods into Gaza from Egypt.
never food or medicine, interestingly enough.
Israel says anti-tank missiles, tons of explosives and thousands of rifles have reached terrorists in Gaza through the tunnels.
Posted by:PlanetDan

#11  Nope, it's pretty much a "by the seat of your salmar kameez" operation, there in the Greater Gaza Dept. of Streets and Sanitation
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-03-12 19:21  

#10  I guess that there is no Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) equivalent established yet in Gaza.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Thorne Bay, AK   2008-03-12 16:52  

#9  sometimes, ya just gotta smile
Posted by: liberalhawk   2008-03-12 16:27  

#8  "burying alive one smuggler"

It's a start....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-03-12 15:33  

#7  Sooo sad.

At least the burial expenses were cheap.

hehehehehe
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-03-12 15:05  

#6  PS to PlanetDan...excellent inline comments. LOL.
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-03-12 14:33  

#5  Mmmm...Cadbury.
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-03-12 14:32  

#4  ...el-Bashiti precipitated the collapse of the tunnel's sandy ceiling when he pushed a pole through to the surface in an effort to show his accomplices where the tunnel ended.

Heh...heh...heh...
The only thing better then that would be if he drowned while testing the sprinkler system.
Posted by: tu3031   2008-03-12 13:03  

#3  this calls for chocolate.

and i've got Cadbury Eggs...
Posted by: Querent   2008-03-12 12:53  

#2  would think maybe the Israelis could set of some 'controlled' explosions in the area and help entropy along with these tunnels...

one stick of TNT at a depth of 10 meters every 100 ft or so aught to do it. at least fracture the soil enough to make any new tunnels rather unstable.
Posted by: Abu do you love   2008-03-12 12:53  

#1  Well at least they were a bit closer to hell underground.
Posted by: Icerigger   2008-03-12 12:36  

00:00