Moria refugee camp suffers from several fires

The Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece has had to be evacuated because of several fires that have affected this enclave, which is home to more than 13 000 people, in recent hours.

The fires, which have caused the tents where the migrants and refugees live to burn, started almost simultaneously and the situation was complicated by the wind, according to the local newspaper Proto Thema. The medium collects videos and photographs showing the burning camp.

The origin of the fires is not clear. According to the German news agency DPA, some inhabitants of the refugee camp have indicated that citizens of Lesbos started the fires, while other information suggests that migrants and refugees caused the fire and subsequently hindered the work of the fire brigade. 

Such a tragedy could have been foreseen due to the living conditions of the refugees in Moria, a place which is characterised by overcrowding and overcrowding of the people living there, something which has been denounced on several occasions by various NGOs. In addition, the Greek authorities confirmed the first case of COVID-19 infection in the camp a week ago and as of Tuesday, Greek health officials had already detected a total of 35 cases of coronavirus in the Moria refugee camp, among the people who had contact with the first infected person recorded in that centre.

The Greek Ministry of Migration reported that a total of 2,000 of the camp's 13,000 residents, 1,900 migrants and 100 employees have been tested so far.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus health crisis, NGOs have warned that overcrowded conditions, lack of hygiene and health services favour the spread of the pathogen.