A huge fire destroys the Moria refugee camp

• Greece: Moria suffocates due to lack of medical care

A large-scale rescue operation is being carried out in the Moria migrant camp, on the Greek island of Lesbos, where several fires broke out early Wednesday morning.

According to firefighters, "scattered fires in the meadows around the camp but also inside the structure" mobilize 25 firefighters and 10 vehicles to evacuate the most populated camp in Europe, which is home to almost

- four times its capacity.

The firefighters specify that at the moment "there are no victims, but there are some minor injuries with respiratory problems from the smoke."

According to an AFP photographer at the site, "almost the entire camp is on fire, both inside and in the outdoor tents, in the olive grove."

Almost 500 migrants are on the road to Mytilene port, but they are

, and others have taken refuge in the hills near the camp.

"The island of Lesbos is declared in a state of emergency," Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on the public television channel ERT.

A government meeting with the prime minister and chief of staff will be held this Wednesday "to examine the situation in Moria and the measures that will be taken," he added.

A woman leaves the camp carrying her belongings.REUTERS

Revolt

According to the local information site Lesvospost, more than 3,000 tents, thousands of containers, administrative offices and a clinic inside the camp burned.

According to Yorgos Ntinos, the president of the Lesbos firefighters union, questioned on Wednesday, the camp "is 99% burned and the fire continues."

Stand by Me Lesvos, an association that brings together locals and refugees, warned on Twitter: "Everything is burning, people are fleeing."

"Some testimonies affirm that the inhabitants block the passage (of refugees) in the neighboring town," he added.

"For hours, large fires have surrounded the reception center. The lights are multiplying (...) and with the force of the wind (7-8 Beaufort), the fire is spreading rapidly," the association of the inhabitants of Moria and other surrounding towns.

"

" adds the neighborhood association, which calls on the authorities to act quickly to find a solution for asylum seekers who will be left homeless after the fire.

According to the Greek press agency ANA, the fires would have started after the

, because they tested positive for coronavirus or were in contact with an infected person.

The firefighters also reported in the statement that some groups of refugees "prevented them from entering the camp to intervene" upon their arrival and that they had to call the police in order to continue the rescue operation.

Last week, authorities detected a first case of coronavirus in the Moria camp and put the compound in quarantine.

After carrying out 2,000 screening tests, 35 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Moria.

35 cases of coronavirus

"Only one person had symptoms, the other 34 are asymptomatic," said the Greek Ministry of Migration.

"The 35 people positive for coronavirus were transferred to a space provided for their isolation," he said.

With the fire, "the whole world has dispersed and the positive cases have been mixed with the others," said a police source on Wednesday in Lesbos.

Since mid-March, strict movement measures have been imposed in the migrant camps.

The government has not removed these restrictions despite criticism from human rights NGOs that consider these measures "discriminatory" because the lockdown in the country was lifted in May.

These NGOs denounce the confinement of asylum seekers in these structures that are not adapted to apply the necessary preventive measures.

In recent years, humanitarian aid organizations have criticized the Moria camp for its

calling on the Greek authorities to relocate the most vulnerable asylum seekers.

Riots and fights are almost daily.

From January to the end of August, five people were stabbed in more than 15 attacks.

Last March, a girl died in a burned container.

In September 2019, two people died in a fire.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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