Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday and quickly swept through at least five quarters of Umpiem Mai Refugee Camp near Mae Sot, Thailand, leaving thousands of people homeless, according to one refugee aid worker.
The fire, swept along by the wind, spread through the camp and was still burning in late afternoon. The refugee camp, one of eight on the Burmese-Thai border, is home to around 17,600 people, Sally Thompson, a deputy executive director of the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an aid group, told Reuters news agency. The camp spreads across the sides of a mountain and down into a valley.So far, there have been no reported deaths. Some children reportedly received burns in the fire.
The cause of the fire is not known at this time. It reportedly started in quarter No. 9 and spread to quarters No. 6, 7, 8 and 12 (a), said Aung Moe, whose house in quarter No. 8 was destroyed.
“Because of the wind, it spread quickly,” he told Mizzima. “People, together with their children, ran helter-skelter toward open fields where there was safety. They couldn’t carry anything.” He said Thai soldiers said fire engines were coming, but they had not arrived in quarter No. 8, when Aung Moe spoke to Mizzima.
Most of the houses in refugee camps are built of wood, bamboo and thatch. Residents tried to fight the fire, but it was too big and spread too fast. All most could do was to save themselves and family members.
“As soon as I knew the fire was coming, I tried to carry clothes and food from my home, but heavy smoke entered the house, forcing us to run for safety. We did not have enough time to carry things,” a victim who lived in quarter No.7 told Mizzima.
Most of the residents of the quarters that were destroyed are Muslim, residents said. Several mosques, schools and markets were also destroyed. By late evening, thousands of fire victims congregated in open areas in the refugee camp. Fire officials and camp residents were still searching the debris and conducting an investigation. The homeless are searching for relatives or friends in the camp to find shelter.
According to figures compiled in May 2011 by the TBBC, there were more than 17,400 Burmese refugees in the Umpiem camp in Tak Province, Thompson said.
TBBC, a consortium of 12 international agencies aiding refugees and displaced people from Burma, said it would launch an emergency appeal.
The refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border house more than 140,000 people who fled Burma due to economic hardship and fighting between the Burmese army and ethnic armed groups. Many have lived in the camps for decades.
To see a map with the population of each refugee camp as of July 2011, go to http://www.tbbc.org/camps/2011-07-jul-map-tbbc-unhcr.pdf
