Two Malian refugees die in fire at farm workers' camp in Italy.
Firebrigades on the fire location
Two refugees from Mali have died after a fire broke out at a camp for farm workers in the southern Italian region of Puglia, two days after it had been ordered to be cleared. Investigators said they had not ruled out arson as a possible cause of the blaze, which consumed sections of a shantytown known as the “Gran Ghetto”, usually home to about 350 people. The two victims were identified as Mamadou Konate, 33, and Nouhou Doumbia, 36.
The fire is believed to have started at about 1am on Friday and quickly engulfed part of the 5,000-sq-metre camp, in which workers live in makeshift huts made of cardboard and plastic tarps.Two other fires have broken out in the camp in recent years. Authorities had ordered the clearing of the area on Wednesday but 100 workers remained in place, fearful that leaving would mean they would lose their jobs.
The camp is home to migrant farm workers who often work under slave-like conditions and are controlled by local organised crime groups.
According to media reports, police and firefighters were at the scene when the fire broke out, but it spread so quickly that the two victims had too little time to escape the flames.
Rita Clemente