Woman & child killed in gas blast at Greek refugee camp, prompting clashes with police (VIDEO)
A woman and child have been killed by a gas cylinder explosion at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island Lesbos. Angry migrants then set the camp on fire and clashed with police.
The blast happened as the woman was cooking in a tent on Thursday, AFP reported citing police.
The 66-year-old woman and the six-year-old child were killed, while the child’s mother and a four-year-old sibling were wounded and sustained severe burns.
Following the accident, dozens of frustrated refugees set the camp on fire, with flames spreading quickly and causing significant damage.
The video shows the raging fire and clouds of black smoke.
At least six refugees were slightly injured in the ensuing clashes with police.
“We are not animals, we are human beings,” a migrant told reporters, according to Reuters.
“You people say United Nations… has human rights, but we don’t see any human rights here. We don’t see any freedom, we don’t see any democracy here.”
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was “shocked, as is the entire Greek nation, by the tragic event.”
“The Greek government is fighting a determined battle in difficult circumstances for the humanitarian management of the refugee issue, and will further intensify its efforts for security and quality of life in the shelters,” Tsipras added, as cited by AP.
The island of Lesbos has become infamous as a location where thousands of refugees remain stranded: about 6,000 are now on the island, and half of them are at the Moria camp.
The much-debated EU-Turkey agreement has seen all the refugees arriving since the end of March waiting for their asylum applications to be reviewed, sometimes stranded in camps for months.
