Huge fire hits Karen camp

Huge fire hits Karen camp

TAK: A fire destroyed at least 100 houses in Thailand's largest camp for Karen refugees in Tha Song Yang district on Tuesday night. There were no reports of casualties, authorities said yesterday.

The district office said the fire at Ban Mae La started in a thatched shack in the middle of the camp and spread quickly to other homes.

Two fire engines were sent to the camp, but more than 100 homes had already burned down when they arrived, officials said.

Authorities are still assessing the full extent of the damage. So far, officials suspect the fire may have started when someone was boiling rice for pig feed in the camp's Zone C.

There are about 39,000 Karen refugees housed in Ban Mae La.

Thailand has hosted refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar for more than three decades.

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