GAZA, Dec. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The five Palestinians who were thought to have been killed after a tunnel collapsed in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah were "still alive", witnesses said Friday.The witnesses said residents got in touch with one of the buried who had a cellular phone and were told they were all alive.Earlier reports said the five people were killed when a 14-meter tunnel collapsed Thursday night in the town linking Gaza and Egypt.

    The Israeli army had allowed Palestinian teams to rescue the endangered, but all efforts ended in vain.

    Meanwhile, Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers exchanged fire when the soldiers tried to detain the five Palestinians in the tunnel.

    Israel often accuses Palestinian militants of using underground tunnels to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Enditem