Afghan refugee dies in container fire in Lesvos
A 27-year-old refugee from Afghanistan died in a fire that started in the makeshift Kara Tepe migrant camp on Lesvos, state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported.
The incident happened at dawn on Thursday when a fire broke out inside the container where the woman lived with her 28-year-old husband and their three children aged 5, 2 and an infant.
The 28-year-old man managed to save the three children before he passed out from the smoke. He was transferred to Mytilene’s hospital where he is being treated for breathing problems.
The fire service, which is located right across the camp, was quick to put out the flames before they reached the next container. It was not clear how the fire broke out.
Kara Tepe camp, which belongs to the municipal authorities, houses 1,324 refugees, all of which belong to vulnerable groups – mostly families with small children.
Numerous fires have started inside the camps of the eastern Aegean, were the dire living conditions caused by overcrowding have been repeatedly lambasted by human rights organzations and NGOs.
The government is implementing a plan to transfer vulnerable refugees to accomodation in the mainland in an effort to decongest the islands, as well as stricter measures to speed up the asylum procedure and increase returns to Turkey.
