A fire severely damaged Saturday night the Vial migrant camp on the island of Chios (Greece). The fire destroyed the European asylum service facilities, a canteen, tents and many accommodation containers, said Manos Logothetis, an official with the Ministry of Migration, on Sunday, adding that no injuries had been reported.
According to Athens spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Boris Cheshirkov, damage assessment is underway, but "hundreds of people are likely to be affected because their shelter has burned down" . "We have given the (Greek) authorities tents that can be used quickly and we will help replace the tents used as warehouses," he added.
Three camp residents arrested
The fire was the result of violence caused by the death of a 47-year-old Iraqi migrant. Three camp residents, one of the largest in Greece, were arrested in connection with the violence, according to a source with local police. "We managed to restore order around 1 am (…) Many people took part in these events," added this source. According to Aziz Husseini, a 30-year-old Afghan woman, mother of two, residents of the camp "attacked the food stores, set fire to the information center and (…) the refrigerators".
The Iraqi deceased had been hospitalized with fever during the week. It had tested negative for the new coronavirus, the public news agency ANA reported on Saturday.
Fear of the coronavirus
Migrant camps in Greece have been quarantined in recent weeks, with authorities trying to keep their residents away from the premises. The virus has so far killed 110 people in the country and 67 patients are in intensive care. Coronavirus cases have been recorded in two camps on the continent, but none so far in those settled on the islands.
Like all migrant camps on the Greek islands, Vial is overcrowded, with more than 5,000 people living in an area set aside for a thousand. The Ministry of Migration announced on Thursday that it would start the transfer to its mainland of hundreds of elderly or sick asylum seekers on Sunday to protect them from the coronavirus. At the same time, the relocation of 1,600 unaccompanied minors from countries at war began within a week.
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