Thursday 28 March 2013

Ten children still missing after Mae Surin refugee camp fire


About 10 children are still missing in the aftermath of the devastating inferno at Mae Surin refugee camp which has left 37 dead, activists say.

Ben Mendoza, director of the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (Coerr), said yesterday authorities and activists are still searching for the missing children.

Camp residents included 1,052 children and youth who were affected by the blaze _ 245 under five years old, and 807 aged five to 18 years old _ he told a forum on the fire held yesterday.

Christine Petrie, director of International Red Cross programmes in Thailand, said the agency wants to ensure the refugees continue to receive the same services as before the tragedy.

Local bodies and NGOs are banding together to improve fire safety measures following the fire at the camp in Khun Yuam district on Friday.

Benjawan Maliwan, field manager of Coerr, said non-profit organisations in the area would discuss with local authorities and Karenni refugee representatives ways to improve the camp's fire prevention system.

The inferno killed 37 Karen and Karenni refugees and injured more than 100 people at the camp.

Coerr runs a disaster risk reduction programme funded by the Japanese embassy since last year, offering refugees a fire prevention training course in collaboration with the Interior Ministry's Disaster Mitigation and Prevention (DMP) office in Mae Hong Son.

Firefighting apparatus such as fire extinguishers, buckets and water tanks have been stored in small fire stations in each zone of the camp.

The refugees have set up their own disaster emergency prevention committee which encourages households to prepare bags of water and sand.

On Friday, refugees rang the bell and broadcast a warning to alert the camp's members at an early stage of the fire, which started at the first house in Zone 1 of the camp. However, Ms Benjawan said the fire was more devastating than anyone expected, with factors such as strong winds hampering rescue efforts.

Solutions to improve fire prevention may include boosting human resources, increasing firefighting apparatus and changing building materials to less flammable substances.

Sawang Momdee, chief of the Mae Hong Song DMP office, said the refugee camp was located in a restricted area where delivery of aid was difficult.

Mr Sawang said permission from a provincial office must be sought to gain access to the camp.

Chanchai Srisatian, chief of Khun Yuam district office, said the office had no budget to support the refugees. "We can only provide knowledge [on preventing and managing fires] to the refugees," he said.

The master plan to improve the fire prevention and management system includes rebuilding houses with a buffer zone between each building to reduce the risk of a fire spreading quickly.

Thursday 28 March 2013

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/342679/10-children-still-missing-as-fire-safety-under-scrutiny

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