SYRIAN REFUGEE CAMP GUTTED

BY FIRE

syrian-refugee-camp-gutted-by-fire-which-destroyed
-almost-every-tent-

A refugee camp housing Syrians who fled the civil war has

been gutted by fire, with almost all of the tents destroyed.

At least one person died after the flames broke out today, sending 

plumes of black smoke into the sky.

‘The settlement has turned to ashes. Even the iron melted,’ emergency

 worker Ahmed Salloum said on Sunday.

He said firefighters tried to contain the fire after it broke out around

 midday, but they couldn’t stop the spread with temperatures

 soaring in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, where the camp was built 

near Qab Elias town.

People stand in the wreckage of the camp 

(Picture: Reuters/Hassan Abdallah)

Salloum, an electricity technician, said he suspected an overload

 of power was to blame for the blaze which left only the 

bathrooms at the edge of the settlement still standing.

The sound of gas canisters exploding could be heard from

 a distance.

George Ketteneh of Lebanon’s Red Cross said initial reports

 indicate that over 100 tents burned down.

He said that about 97 families – around 700 people – lived in 

the informal settlement and are now homeless.

At least six people were wounded, and the refugee who died

 is said to be a child.

Smoke billows as firefighters attempt to extinguish the fire

 (Picture: Getty)

It destroyed almost every tent (Picture: Getty)

A man is treated for smoke inhalation by Red Cross 

members (Picture: Reuters)

Lebanese firefighters inspect the damage (Picture: Getty)

Smoke billows as Syrians refugees attempt to extinguish 

the fire (Picture: Getty)

Lebanese Civil Defense workers putting out the fire 

(Picture: Qab Elias Emergency Services via AP)

The fire reached the edges of the camp (Picture: Getty)

Lebanon is home to over a million registered Syrian refugees, who mostly 

live in settlements in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, near the border.

The fire comes two days after Lebanese authorities rounded up nearly 400 

Syrian refugees following an attack on military troops conducting raids in 

refugee camps in Arsal, another town near the border with Syria.

But Syrian activists and refugees criticised the raids, saying the mass sweep

 was excessive and that detainees were abused.The authorities said the raids 

followed a tip that a terrorist attack was planned out of the camps.

The Lebanese military denies the allegations of abuse.