Thai Refugee Camp Fire Leaves Over 400 People Homeless
Thai Refugee Camp Fire Leaves Over 400 People Homeless
Myanmar Times, 06 Mar 2019
URL: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/thai-refugee-camp-fire-leaves-over-400-people-homeless.html
At least 400 people were left homeless by a fire that gutted dozens of houses at Nu Po refugee camp on the Myanmar-Thai border, an officer of a local Myanmar aid agency said on Tuesday.
Saw Bway Sae, secretary of the Karen Refugee Committee, said 88 houses were destroyed in the fire on Monday afternoon.
"Many houses were gutted, as the wind fuelled the fire. Some houses had to be demolished before the fire could be put out,” he said. “But there were no injuries or deaths in the accident. We still don't know what caused it, as Thai investigators are still gathering information.”
Thai police are estimating the damage caused by the fire, and the committee is providing food and shelter to refugees who lost their homes.
Nu Po is a large refugee camp in Umphang district of Tak province in western Thailand, which is located opposite Kayin State.
The camp was established in 1997, merging two refugee camps set up in the area five years earlier. It has 15,000 Myanmar refugees, more than 80 percent of whom are ethnic Karen, according to the Myanmar Border Consortium.
Saw Bway Sae, secretary of the Karen Refugee Committee, said 88 houses were destroyed in the fire on Monday afternoon.
"Many houses were gutted, as the wind fuelled the fire. Some houses had to be demolished before the fire could be put out,” he said. “But there were no injuries or deaths in the accident. We still don't know what caused it, as Thai investigators are still gathering information.”
Thai police are estimating the damage caused by the fire, and the committee is providing food and shelter to refugees who lost their homes.
Nu Po is a large refugee camp in Umphang district of Tak province in western Thailand, which is located opposite Kayin State.
The camp was established in 1997, merging two refugee camps set up in the area five years earlier. It has 15,000 Myanmar refugees, more than 80 percent of whom are ethnic Karen, according to the Myanmar Border Consortium.