[ad_1]
Several fires broke out at dawn Wednesday in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. According to press reports, several residential containers have caught fire, prompting the authorities to order the evacuation of the facility, writes MTI.
In the meantime, public service radio ERT reported that nearly everyone had been evacuated from the camp, which was almost on fire.
The work of the firefighters is hampered by strong gusts of wind that further ignite the flames. Relief organizations and volunteer helpers on the ground reported on social media that some people’s escape route was blocked by fire and heavy smoke.
There are no reports of injuries or deaths yet.
The information about the causes of the fire is contradictory: some residents of the camp claim that people living on the island set fire to it, other information that the residents of the camp caused the fire. The fire brigade commander said the asylum seekers threw stones at their men and obstructed their work. Special police units were also dispatched to the scene.
Since Tuesday night, the Lesbos fire department has also had to deal with a large forest fire some 25 kilometers northwest of Moria.
There were previous unrest at the camp as the facility was quarantined last week as more and more asylum seekers became infected with the coronavirus. By Tuesday, their number had risen to 35. Some wanted to leave the field for fear of infection, and those infected did not want to be isolated outside the field, said the semi-official Greek news agency ANA-MPA.
There were a lot of scared, scared people on social media, but also people who sang that.
Goodbye, Moria!
Some of the migrants sought refuge in a nearby forest or hill, while others set out for the island’s capital, Mytilene. According to the Greek press, in some places the inhabitants of Lesbos tried to get in his way.
There have always been tensions in Moria, but because of the coronavirus, the situation regularly exploded
Stratos Kütélisz, Mayor of Mytilene, said about the ERT program. He said they could not locate people where thousands had been made homeless. He added that the situation is also a major burden for the locals.
Designed for 2,800 people, Camp Moria currently has about 12,600 people; aid organizations regularly criticized the living conditions, the congestion.
Featured image: Manolis LAGOUTARIS / AFP
[ad_2]
