1 child dead at refugee camp on Greece's Lesbos Island
- Fighting ongoing blaze at camp is difficult due to strong winds in the area, say firefighters
Asylum seekers are seen waiting at woodland near buffer zone located between the Kastanies and the Pazarkule border gates, hoping that Greece will open the border gate, on March 15, 2020 in Turkey's northwestern Edirne province. More than thousands of asylum seekers' struggle to reach Europe continues on the 17th day. ( Gokhan Balci - Anadolu Agency )
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ATHENS (AA) - A 6-year-old child on Monday died in an ongoing fire at a refugee camp on the Aegean island of Lesbos under unknown circumstance.
The child, whose gender was not identified, was found at the Moria Reception and Identification Center on the island – which is near the Turkish coast and is known as Midilli in Turkish – the local fire department said in a tweet. There were 13 firefighters and five firefighting vehicles in the area, it added.
Firefighters were having trouble controlling the fire due to the strong winds blowing on the island, local media reported, while overcrowding at the facility made their efforts to reach the spot harder.
The Moria camp currently hosts more than 19,000 migrants in a camp built to accommodate fewer than 3,000.
Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, including those fleeing war and persecution, with many trying to reach Greek islands in the Aegean.
Under a 2016 deal with the EU, Turkey has worked to stop dangerous crossings by sea, and has rescued thousands of asylum seekers en route to Greek islands.
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