Six Palestinians, including three brothers, dead as cesspit caves in near Hebron

Six Palestinians from the same extended family were killed as an old cesspit caved in Saturday in a village near Hebron in the West Bank, Palestinian police and witnesses said.

A father and his son were digging a septic pit when the adjacent old one collapsed, drowning them both, witnesses in Deir al-Asal said.

Three brothers who attempted a rescue also died, along with another youth trying to help.

A police spokesman told AFP the victims were aged between 16 and 50.