Fire kills girl at Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon

A fire caused by an electrical malfunction killed a girl at a Syrian refugee camp in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley overnight, a medical source said yesterday, in the second lethal blaze in a camp in the area in three days.

Fifteen of the 140 tents in the camp were destroyed and four partly burned in the fire, according to an assessment by Save the Children Lebanon, a non-governmental organisation that assists refugees.

Read: Fire destroys Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, kills one

On Sunday, a fire destroyed a Syrian refugee camp near Qab Elias, some seven kilometres away from Bar Elias, also killing one person. Initial reports indicated that fire was caused by a cooking stove. That camp was home to around 100 families.

Save the Children Lebanon said it was working to provide emergency support to the families and children affected by the latest blaze.

Lebanon is hosting at least one million registered Syrian refugees, though the government says the total is around 1.5 million, with many living in tented settlements.