Fire destroys migrant camp on Greek island of Lesbos
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Lesbos — Thousands of migrants were left without shelter on Wednesday after overnight fires gutted their overcrowded camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, and authorities warned that some asylum seekers who tested positive for Covid-19 could spread the virus.
The Moria camp, which hosts more than 12,000 people, was “probably destroyed”, one Greek migration official said.
Athens declared a state of emergency on Lesbos and sent police reinforcements to the island to help keep order.
As migrants camped out in fields nearby or sifted through smouldering debris in search of possessions, deputy migration minister George Koumoutsakos said about 3,000 people affected by the fires would be temporarily housed in tents.
“The situation in Moria cannot go on (as it is) because it is simultaneously a public health and national security issue,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address, adding that managing migrant flows was a “European problem”.
The cause of the fires, which broke out soon after midnight, remained unclear but authorities were investigating whether they were started deliberately after Covid-19 tests led to the isolation of a number of refugees.
“There was not just one but many fires in the camp. Migrants threw stones at firefighters trying to put out the fires,” Constantine Theophilopoulos, fire brigade chief for the northern Aegean, said.
The camp had been placed under quarantine last week after an asylum seeker tested positive for Covid-19. As of late Monday 35 migrants had been confirmed as having the virus.
Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said camp residents would not be allowed to leave Lesbos due to the pandemic, though EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the European Union had agreed to fund the immediate transfer of 400 unaccompanied children and teenagers to the Greek mainland.
Some migrants tried to head towards the town of Mytilini early on Wednesday but police stopped them, eyewitnesses said.
Aid groups have long criticised conditions at the camp, which hosts more than four times its stated capacity, saying it is impossible to implement social distancing and basic hygiene measures there.
Mitsotakis said EU Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas would visit Lesbos on Thursday, while the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said the 27-nation bloc stood ready to mobilise support for Greece.
'Tragically predictable'
Refugee agency UNHCR said it had received reports of tensions between people in neighbouring villages and asylum seekers who were trying to reach Mytilini ...
The Moria camp, which hosts more than 12,000 people, was “probably destroyed”, one Greek migration official said.
Athens declared a state of emergency on Lesbos and sent police reinforcements to the island to help keep order.
As migrants camped out in fields nearby or sifted through smouldering debris in search of possessions, deputy migration minister George Koumoutsakos said about 3,000 people affected by the fires would be temporarily housed in tents.
“The situation in Moria cannot go on (as it is) because it is simultaneously a public health and national security issue,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address, adding that managing migrant flows was a “European problem”.
The cause of the fires, which broke out soon after midnight, remained unclear but authorities were investigating whether they were started deliberately after Covid-19 tests led to the isolation of a number of refugees.
“There was not just one but many fires in the camp. Migrants threw stones at firefighters trying to put out the fires,” Constantine Theophilopoulos, fire brigade chief for the northern Aegean, said.
The camp had been placed under quarantine last week after an asylum seeker tested positive for Covid-19. As of late Monday 35 migrants had been confirmed as having the virus.
Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said camp residents would not be allowed to leave Lesbos due to the pandemic, though EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the European Union had agreed to fund the immediate transfer of 400 unaccompanied children and teenagers to the Greek mainland.
Some migrants tried to head towards the town of Mytilini early on Wednesday but police stopped them, eyewitnesses said.
Aid groups have long criticised conditions at the camp, which hosts more than four times its stated capacity, saying it is impossible to implement social distancing and basic hygiene measures there.
Mitsotakis said EU Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas would visit Lesbos on Thursday, while the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said the 27-nation bloc stood ready to mobilise support for Greece.
'Tragically predictable'
Refugee agency UNHCR said it had received reports of tensions between people in neighbouring villages and asylum seekers who were trying to reach Mytilini ...