Greece: Fire sweeps through refugee camp on virus lockdown

Fire swept through Greece's largest refugee camp that h been placed under COVID-19 lockdown, leaving more than 12,000 migrants in emergency need of shelter on island of Lesbos on Wednesday.

In dramatic scenes overnight, migrants at Moria refugee camp fled fires that broke out at multiple points and gutted much of camp and surrounding hillside olive groves. Protests also broke out involving migrants, riot police, and firefighters.

“It has been a very difficult night,” government spokesman Stelios Petsas said, ding that a state on emergency would be declared later Wednesday on island.

Some 12,500 people were living at Moria camp and surrounding area, where ditional restrictions have been imposed over past week after a Somali resident tested positive for coronavirus. re were reports of injuries.

fires broke out overnight, police and fire officials on island told Associated Press, ding cause of blazes, as well as full extent of dam, remained unclear.

y did t confirm local reports that fires h been set deliberately in protest at lockdown measures but said firefighters h “met resistance” from some camp residents.

Government spokesman Petsas said that arson was being considered as a possible cause of fire. Before dawn, riot police set up cordons along a highway near camp to restrict movements of migrants.

Health authorities on Tuesday said 35 people at camp h been confirmed infected with virus so far after a major testing drive was ordered at overcrowded facility.

Those with confirmed infections were being kept in isolation at a separate site that was t affected by fire, officials said.

Lesbos was Europe's busiest crossing point in 2015-16 for illegal migration during a massive westward movement of refugees, much-fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq and travelling through Turkey.

After that wave of migration, Greece set up camps on Lesbos and four or islands, helped with European Union funding, and more recently also set up a network of camps on mainland.

Firefighters on Lesbos were also battling two or forest fires on west of island Wednesday.