A child died on Monday morning in a large fire in a crowded migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, the local fire brigade reports. It is a girl of six or seven years old.
The fire destroyed two containers used as living quarters in Camp Moria. Some tents also went up in flames. Fires break out more often in camp.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Moria is originally suitable to receive about 3,000 people, but currently houses 19,400 refugees, who live in miserable conditions. There is a great lack of sanitation and medical care.
The Greek refugee camps may still have a problem because of the corona virus. According to MSF, a resident of Lesbos is said to have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Despite this, the aid organization says it is impossible to contain the corona virus in a refugee camp like Moria and there is no emergency plan in place. The aid organization has therefore called on the authorities to immediately close Moria and to take measures as soon as possible, such as infection prevention and health education.
Lesbos was hit hard during the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016. A new wave of migration has started since February 28, after Turkey opened the border with the European Union to refugees from Syria.
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