A large fire raged in a squat in Brussels on Thursday. About nine hundred asylum seekers and refugees occupied the building illegally. Some of them were slightly injured. The building has been a concern for Brussels for weeks due to major outbreaks of disease due to the poor living conditions.
The fire broke out on the third floor of the building and was quickly contained. Several residents of the building suffered minor injuries. They were treated at the scene by ambulance personnel.
The building, the former building of the Belgian tax authorities, was squatted in September last year. According to the Red Cross, about 900 migrants live there, of whom only 144 people are registered as asylum seekers. This group has according to the Belgian broadcaster VRT now taken care of elsewhere.
The building is in very bad condition and the hygiene leaves much to be desired. For example, no garbage is collected and many toilets are clogged. The showers are flooded with water.
Due to the poor conditions, various diseases are circulating, such as diphtheria, tuberculosis and scabies. Doctors Without Borders has now started a vaccination campaign to prevent larger outbreaks.
Aid organizations have been complaining for some time about the appalling situation in the building, which attracted more and more people who had nowhere to go. The Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor is also “very concerned” about the situation, she writes on Twitter.
The cause of the fire is not clear. Police are still investigating whether it was arson.
