Child Dies in Fire at Greek Refugee Camp

FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
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Child Dies in Fire at Greek Refugee Camp

FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.
FILE - Refugees and migrants make their way in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece.

A child has been found dead following a fire Tuesday evening at a refugee camp north of Athens, the fire service said.

The child was not breathing by the time firefighters arrived at the camp at Thiva, 54 kilometers from the Greek capital.

Eight firefighters and four fire engines were needed to bring the fire under control.

According to initial reports, police had to intervene when asylum seekers blocked their access to the building that had caught fire. It is not known what started the blaze.

It was the latest in a series of fires at migrant camps in different parts of Greece.

In winter, many migrants resort to wood fires to keep warm because of the lack of proper heating in the tented camps, which regularly leads to accidents.

Campaigners have repeatedly warned about the plight of those forced to stay in the migrant camps across the country in winter weather.



China Detains Principal Over Lead Poisoning of 200 Children

Kindergarten students draw the Chinese national flag in a classroom in Hong Kong, China, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Kindergarten students draw the Chinese national flag in a classroom in Hong Kong, China, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
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China Detains Principal Over Lead Poisoning of 200 Children

Kindergarten students draw the Chinese national flag in a classroom in Hong Kong, China, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Kindergarten students draw the Chinese national flag in a classroom in Hong Kong, China, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

A kindergarten principal was detained after more than 200 children in northwestern China fell ill with potential lead poisoning from date cakes and corn rolls, state media said on Tuesday.

Investigators found "abnormal" levels of lead in the blood of 233 children at Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Of those, 201 of the children are being treated in hospital.

Food safety scandals were once common in China, where tainted milk formula made hundreds of thousands of babies ill in 2008 and was linked to six deaths.
City authorities investigated the head of the kindergarten last week after receiving reports that children were falling ill.

A parent told state-run Jimu News tabloid last week that children had been experiencing stomach pain and nausea, and that some of their teeth turned black.

Testing revealed that samples of three-color steamed date cakes and corn rolls contained more than 2,000 times the national safety standard for food contaminants.

The cake, served at breakfast, returned a reading of 1,052 milligrams per kilogram and the roll, served at another meal, was found with 1,340 milligrams per kilogram.

The nationwide limit for lead in wheat and starch is 0.5 milligrams per kilogram, according to Chinese government records.

CCTV said security footage shows kitchen staff adding packaged yellow coloring to a flour mix used in both contaminated dishes, AFP reported.

The kindergarten's principal, surnamed Zhu, and an investor surnamed Li have been detained along with six other people, CCTV said. Two others are on "bail pending trial".

Investigators found that Zhu and Li allowed kitchen staff to produce food using paint pigments purchased online that were later found to contain lead and were marked inedible.

Testing among children attending other kindergartens linked with Peixin returned normal results.

Food safety standards have generally improved across China but revelations last year that cooking oil had been transported in containers also used to carry fuel sparked outrage across Chinese social media.