Hundreds of migrants at large after fire ravages French camp

Migrants evacuating a huge fire at the Grande-Synthe migrant camp outside the northern French city of Dunkirk on April 10, 2017, which was reduced to 'a heap of ashes', according to the regional chief. Philippe Huguen/AFP

A fireman working near burnt huts on April 11, 2017 at the Grande-Synthe migrant camp. Philippe Huguen/AFP

Firefighters said at least ten people had been injured in the blaze at the camp, which was home to some 1,600 people. Philippe Huguen/AFP

Ismael, a Kurdish migrant, carrying a guitar he salvaged from the burned remains of a migrant camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, northern France. Christophe Ena/AP Photo

Firefighters working amongst the remains of burnt huts at the Grande-Synthe migrant camp. Thibault Vandermersch/EPA

GRANDE-SYNTHE, FRANCE // Hundreds of migrants have disappeared after they were evacuated from a camp in northern France that was ravaged by a fire that ripped through one of the biggest migrant camps in the country, according to authorities and aid workers trying to ensure alternative shelter and calm tensions.

The fire razed most of the Grande-Synthe migrant camp near Dunkirk in northern France on Monday night after fighting involving hundreds of Afghans and Kurds living there left at least 10 people injured.

The facility is one of the biggest migrant camps in France housing about 1,600 people, and provided hundreds of wooden huts for shelter, as well as cooking facilities and showers.

“There is nothing left but a heap of ashes,” Michel Lalande, prefect of France’s Nord region, said as firefighters battled the flames which were visible from several kilometres away.

Firefighters said at least 10 people had been injured in the inferno, which followed an outbreak of fighting that required riot police to intervene.

Police cordoned off the camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe on Tuesday and investigators inspected the site to try to determine the cause of the Monday night fire.

The scale of the destruction only became clear in the morning, with only 70 out of 300 huts and a handful of communal buildings still intact. The others were smouldering embers or burned beyond repair, along with their contents.

Most of the camp near the English Channel is now reduced to the charred remains of wooden shelters and sparse belongings of the migrants, who converged on northern France in hopes of reaching Britain.

As many as 1,600 people were in the camp when the blaze broke out, according to the Grande-Synthe mayor and the prefect, the top government official for the region. Some 500 were taken to three local gymnasiums, including one set aside for children and families – but most of the other migrants remain unaccounted for, the mayor and prefect said on Tuesday.

Doctors Without Borders set up the site a year ago to replace filthy makeshift camps in the region. Aid groups were planning to distribute meals to migrants in the gymnasiums and anywhere else they are found around town.

The first priority is to find the migrants dispersed by the blaze, said Corenne Torre, head of the humanitarian group in France.

“We just don’t know where they are,” she said, estimating that at least 600 migrants remain unaccounted for. Some fear the authorities, and others fear rejoining a camp with rival gangs, she said.

She said that 10 migrants are in local hospitals with light injuries following the fire, which came hours after a clash involving up to 150 migrants.

Authorities say they believe the fire was set intentionally and was linked to a fight on Monday between Kurdish and Afghan migrant groups.

Grande-Synthe has been home to one of the largest groups of Britain-bound migrants on the French coast since the closure last October of a sprawling shanty town outside the nearby port of Calais.

Last week, some of its inhabitants tried to block the nearby highway with tree trunks and branches in an attempt to stop the traffic and clamber onto the trucks and cars in the hope of reaching Britain.

The camp will remain closed during the investigation, and local authorities will consider whether to open a new camp to replace it.

It is a sensitive issue in France just 12 days ahead of a presidential election in which immigration is a key issue. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and others are calling for strict border controls and a crackdown on migration.

“I lost all my documents,” said an Iraqi migrant who identified himself only as Albidani, standing outside the camp. “I just have only this paper that says I’m a refugee in France.”

“We are refugees here in France. We don’t have any place ... We don’t know what to do. We lost everything,” Albidani said.

* Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse