Questions rise after deadly fire in Syrian refugee camp

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Conditions of Syrian refugee camps in Turkey are questioned ahead of winter, following deadly fires. AA photo

Questions are being raised over the conditions of Turkey’s Syrian refugee camps ahead of winter after one girl died and another five were injured at camp yesterday in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.

Eye Raghi, 5, was killed, while the other five were initially hospitalized at the nearby Akçakale Sahra State Hospital before being transferred for more comprehensive care at Şanlıurfa State Hospital.

Mustafa Aydoğdu, a spokesman for the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD), said the fire was caused by an electrical problem.

Illegal use of electricity

“Compatible with the safest heating systems, oil radiators are being used in the camps to prevent any possible fire, but the family staying in the tent must have been using another heater,” Aydoğdu told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday over phone.

Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay also said the fire was apparently caused by the refugees’ “illegal use of electricity” that is provided for radiators used to heat the tents. Nearly 40,000 refugees are staying in tents, Aydoğdu said, adding that tens of thousands of winter clothes and shoes have been delivered to refugees.

Five children were killed while another nine people – six of them children – were injured in another fire that broke out in a makeshift tent in a rural area of Syria’s Idlib Governorate on Jan. 1. The injured were brought to Turkey and were admitted to Reyhanlı State Hospital for treatment.