Four die as river of sewage devastates town

AN earth embankment around a cesspool collapsed yesterday, spewing a river of sewage and mud that killed four people and forced residents to flee from the village of Umm Naser in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

A local official blamed shoddy infrastructure in the town of 3,000 residents.

A 70-year-old woman, two small children and a teenager died and 25 people were injured, said Dr Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Many of the village’s houses were submerged or seriously damaged.