There were no immediate reports of injuries, and officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage. The camp was “completely destroyed,” ground photographer George Mutafis told Greek TV channel Mega.
“The Moria camp no longer exists. The camp is completely destroyed. The containers and tents are completely destroyed. The fire is out now. Many migrants and refugees have now returned to the camp and are looking for their belongings.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, according to Greek officials. The camp is under lockdown after 35 people tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. Local media suggested that the fire was started intentionally.
A German charity group at the scene said protests were staged at the camp on Tuesday night over the lockdown measures.
“In the evening, the anger and frustration of the refugees detained at Moria erupted,” the German group Mission Lifeline said in a statement.
The statement said, “Earlier in the camp there was a dispute at Covid 19 station which spread throughout the area during the night. Security forces used tear gas.” “Most of the housing was burnt down. Homeless people fled to the surrounding olive groves.”
Axel Stear, co-founder of Mission Life, said he warned that the situation would “grow” on the camp’s poor conditions, calling the lockdown measures “the final straw”.
“The people of Moria are exposed to extreme mental stress. The lockdown of the camp has now become the final straw,” Steer said. “Morea refugees are not considered human.
“Among other things, we told the (German) federal government again and again to get everyone out of the Greek camp. But hardly anything happened,” Stear added.
The Moria camp extends into olive groves outside the main UN camp where thousands of makeshift wooden huts live in which they were built of wooden sticks and tarpaulins, burnt down with nails. Residents say they wait for hours to use the bathroom, and sometimes spend all day queuing for food.
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