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Moria, Greece’s largest refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, was destroyed by an unknown fire in the night connecting Tuesday to Wednesday.
Thousands of migrants had to flee the flames in the Moria camp, which was in quarantine due to the appearance of coronavirus cases.
According to preliminary determinations, approximately 13,000 migrants no longer have a place to stay.
There were no deaths or injuries from the fire, but it is said that they were affected by the smoke.
Thousands of refugees had to disperse to the island of Lesbos, as the camp was reduced to ashes and they had nowhere to stay.
Authorities are concerned about the spread of the disease to the island as there are cases of coronavirus among the refugees.
Source, fake images
640 children and their families sent to Europe
As an emergency was declared as a result of the fire that broke out in the camp, which accommodated more people than its capacity, the police were dispatched to Lesbos.
Deputy Immigration Minister George Koumoutsakos stated that 3,000 migrants were temporarily assigned tents; For the rest of the immigrants, the government has difficulty providing accommodation.
Coronavirus was detected in 35 people in the camp where 13,000 refugees were staying.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, said the EU will do everything possible to help immigrants by sending a senior official to Greece.
Germany also asked other countries to help immigrants; however, so far 640 sick children, adolescents and children have been sent to their families in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Finland.
Source, fake images
‘Completely devastated’
The fire was intervened with 25 firefighters and 10 fire trucks. Greek Prime Minister Kiryakos Miçotakis decided to hold an emergency meeting on the incident.
Aris Hatzikomninos, deputy governor of the island of Lesbos, declared that the camp was “completely destroyed”.
A government spokesman told state television ERT that the arson allegations were being investigated.
The immigration support group ‘Stand by Me Lesvos’ announced that some residents of the island had received reports of attacks on migrants and that they were trying to stop their advance towards the nearby town.
The government declared a 4-day state of emergency on the island.
Source, Reuters
What happened in Moria?
Firefighters noted that the fire started just after midnight. Television images showed that a small number of containers and tents remained standing in the morning, and some migrants were trying to find their belongings among the remaining piles.
Speaking to the BBC, Thanasis Voulgarakis, a resident of the island, explained that almost the entire camp was burned:
“At dawn I can see some standing tents, but the rest of the camp is completely burned as far as I can see.”
Source, Reuters
The camp was quarantined
The camp was quarantined after an immigrant contracted Covid-19 last week. According to the latest information, there were 35 cases of coronavirus in the camp.
The Greek news agency ANA reported that the fire broke out after some 35 migrants and their families refused to be quarantined, but this claim has yet to be confirmed.
Moria, with 13,000 immigrants, accommodated four times its capacity.
“The time bomb finally exploded,” Marco Sandrone, the coordinator of Doctors Without Borders’ Midilli project, told the BBC that the migrants had been held in “inhuman conditions” in the camp for years.
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said the EU is ready to support Greece.
According to InfoMigrantes, 70 percent of those who stay in the camp are Afghan immigrants.
Source, fake images
