Thousands of refugees without shelter after Moria camp fire

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday a fire broke out at the controversial Moria Reception and Identification Center on the Greek island of Lesvos overnight and destroyed more than 80 percent of the camp. 

IOM said there were no initial reports of casualties but over 12,600 migrants and refugees were now displaced. 

“This devastating tragedy compounds the already existing challenges and difficult conditions at Moria due to overcrowding and COVID-19,” said IOM Director General António Vitorino.  

“We are doing everything we can to support the Greek authorities and the affected migrants and refugees, to ensure their immediate care and safety as we work together on longer-term solutions.” 

IOM said it was mobilizing to provide immediate support to the authorities and people affected, particularly the unaccompanied children and said that the organization, along with other groups, is committed to transporting 400 unaccompanied children from Lesvos to suitable accommodations on the mainland and to escort them during the transfer.

Athens meanwhile declared a state of emergency on Lesvos and sent police reinforcements to the island, off Turkey, to help keep order, Reuters reported.

Deputy Migration Minister George Koumoutsakos said about 3,000 migrants and refugees would be temporarily housed in tents as the government struggles to find alternative shelter for the migrants, some of whom were now camped out in fields nearby.

The cause of the fire was not yet known but authorities were investigating whether they were started deliberately.

Reuters reported the fire broke out just after midnight and by dawn on Wednesday most of the camp was a smoldering mass of burned containers and tents, with a few people searching through the debris for their possessions.

“There was not just one but many fires in the camp. Migrants threw stones at firefighters trying to put out the fires. The cause is under investigation,” Constantine Theophilopoulos, fire brigade chief for the northern Aegean, told ERT TV.

Initial reports suggested the fires broke out at different locations in the sprawling camp after authorities tried to isolate some individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19.