Northern Ireland water crisis prompts meeting

Anger mounted in Northern Ireland Thursday as ministers prepared to hold a crisis meeting to discuss why tens of thousands of people have been without water for more than a week.

Doctors warned that the continued shortage could spark a public health crisis, as engineers struggle to repair thousands of pipes, which sprang leaks following some of the coldest temperature for decades.

"This is really now a public health emergency," said Peter Maguire, a doctor in the province.

About 34,000 people were still without running water Thursday, and some families have not used their toilet or washing facilities for 11 days. Almost 80 towns and villages have been affected across Northern Ireland.

Scottish authorities have helped by shipping in 160,000 liters of bottled water to be distributed to homes and businesses.

Some politicians have said the crisis points to a chronic lack of investment in a province which emerged only a decade ago from 30 years of killings and bombings known as the Troubles.

AFP