A mother and child have reportedly been killed in a fire at a refugee center on Lesbos, according to Greek media. Police fired tear gas at migrants rioting over the slow response to the blaze.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
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At least two people have died in a fire that blazed through the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Greek media has reported that a woman and a child were killed in a burning container inside a crowded refugee camp on the eastern Greek island, which lies close to Turkey. The fire spread to six or seven containers. The total number of fatalities is currently unknown.
Two fires broke out early Sunday evening, one inside the Moria detention center and another at a nearby temporary camp. The cause of the fire is still unconfirmed.
An airplane was able to extinguish the flames. Police then fired tear gas to control a rioting crowd angered by how long it took to put out the blaze.
"The situation is tense," Lesbos Mayor Stratis Kytelis told The Associated Press. "There is information about a dead mother and her child. We haven't been able to confirm that yet."
UNHCR Greece later appeared to confirm the deaths on Twitter.
Greek Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Lefteris Economou is due to visit the site later Monday with the chief of police and the secretary general for migration policy.
Dire conditions at Moria camp
About 12,000 migrants, most of them from Afghanistan, are housed in the Moria migrant camp which has a maximum capacity of 3,000 people.
Lesbos was a key gateway into Europe for almost a million migrants in 2015 and still suffers from severe overcrowding as the Greek government continues to grapple with solutions to the refugee influx.
Tension has recently surged on the Greek islands, with the number of migrants arriving from Turkey rising sharply since last year.
The aid agency Doctors Without Borders warned that Lesbos was "reaching breaking point," saying that some 500 new people were entering the island every week, overstretching health care and other migrant services, while leading some to resort to violence.
There has also been an increase in far-right attacks on migrants in Lesbos.
This year, so far, has seen a huge influx of refugees arriving in Lesbos. Conditions in the Moria camp are steadily becoming worse and refugees are often left to their own devices.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A view from above
Moria refugee camp has a capacity of 3,000. Currently, some 14,500 refugees are squeezed into the infamous refugee camp, Greece's largest reception and identification center.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Deep wounds
A large majority of those who live in Moria have been deemed as vulnerable and are in need of immediate medical assistance. This girl from Gaza, who lives with her family in a tent in the olive grove outside Moria, was severely injured when an Israeli rocket hit her home.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A false dawn?
In August more than 2,800 people arrived in dinghies on the island of Lesbos. A boat carrying 40 people was brought into the port of Skala Sikamineas after it was intercepted by Frontex, the EU's border agency. Eight women and 18 children, including five unaccompanied minors, were on board along with 14 men, all from Afghanistan.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
The wait begins
After the women and children have been transferred to a transit camp, 18 men wait to be taken away to the same camp by the authorities. Volunteers with the NGO Lighthouse relief assist the authorities in providing food and water to those who have recently arrived.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Keeping the tradition alive
An Afghan woman makes bread in a makeshift underground oven which she then sells for €1 ($1.10) to other refugees. Due to deteriorating conditions and food provisions that are below standard quality many refugees who remain for long in the camp of Moria have found new ways to pass the day and remember home.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A soothing hand
Countless refugees need urgent medical attention. Doctors without Borders operate an emergency clinic opposite Moria for the most urgent cases, as the main camp currently only has one doctor and the hospital of Mytilene is overwhelmed and in some cases unwilling to treat refugees.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Discarded dreams
A "graveyard" of life jackets and boats on the island's north is a stark reminder of the last huge influx of refugees in 2015/16. Lesbos has been at the center of the refugee crisis for years as thousands of people have landed on its shores. Currently there are more than 11,000 refugees spread across the islands. That number is expected to rise sharply by the end of the year.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Monotonous routine
Waiting in line has become the main daily activity for those stuck in Moria limbo — even for children. Some wait for hours in order to receive food and water.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
From the frying pan into the fire
A group of refugees prepares to board a ship which will take them to mainland Greece. After the sudden arrival of 600 people in one night, the Greek government decided to transfer 1,400 people to the mainland. Most were taken to the camp of Nea Kavala in a remote village in northern Greece.
