Online Desk: In response to the recent fire in one of the refugee camps, hosting nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, the European Union has released €300 000 to assist the affected population.

The incident left over 5 000 people without shelter.

The funding will serve to provide immediate emergency assistance to address the most urgent needs, notably in terms of shelter, water and site development, said the EU Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.

It will be implemented by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and complement efforts of other humanitarian partners.

In the early hours of 7 January, a large fire broke out in one of the most congested camps, Camp 5, where it quickly spread. Close to 950 shelters burned down or were partially destroyed.

The fire also damaged communal facilities, including one health centre, 15 learning centres, as well as numerous latrines and washrooms.

Despite the extensive damage, no casualties have been reported so far, thanks to the rapid intervention of the fire brigade with the essential help of Rohingya community volunteers.

Since fires are frequent in the congested camps, EU-funded disaster preparedness programmes have helped humanitarian partners strengthen camp structures and better prepare for such risks.

This new funding comes in addition to the over €38 million provided by the EU last year in humanitarian aid to Bangladesh, notably in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, but also to reduce the impact of natural hazards.

Last March, when another devastating fire caused substantial damage in Cox’s Bazar camps, the EU released €1 million to assist the affected refugees.