Two die as smuggling tunnel collapses

Two Palestinians were killed today when the tunnel they were crawling through under the Gaza-Egypt border collapsed, Palestinian police said.

The tunnel near the Gaza town of Rafah apparently caved in overnight but the bodies were found only after dawn today, the police said.

The two Palestinians are from a family known for drug and food smuggling in the area, they added.

No weapons were found with the two bodies.

Palestinians frequently smuggle weapons or contraband into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September.