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BOSNIA-MIGRANTS-FIRE
Fire in Bosnian migrant shelter injures 32
SARAJEVO, June 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A fire in a shelter for migrants in
northwest Bosnia on Saturday left 32 people hurt either from burns or
injuries after they jumped from windows to escape the flames, authorities
said.
The blaze broke out after dawn in the privately-run facility in the town
of Velika Kladusa, said Ale Siljdedic, spokesman for the Bihac regional
interior ministry.
“The fire has been put out, 32 migrants have been injured,” some of them
after jumping from the second floor, Siljdedic told AFP, adding the blaze was
“doubtless” due to an electrical fault.
One person was taken to hospital, regional International Migration
Organization coordinator Vladmir Mitkovski told FTV television.
Around 500 migrants were in the shelter at the time, Siljdedic said.
It was the second blaze in recent weeks to hit a place where migrants were
staying in Bosnia.
Three weeks ago, three migrants died when a candle they were using set
fire to the abandoned building they were in, according to Indira Kulenovic, a
manager for Bosnia operations of the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent.
Since early 2018 Bosnia has found itself on the “Balkans route” used by
migrants seeking to enter EU countries. Around 3,500 migrants are housed in
eight shelters, mostly in the northwest, close to the border with EU member
Croatia.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1729 hrs