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LONDON, Feb 15: At least a dozen refugees escaped after a night of rioting and arson in Europe’s biggest asylum detention centre near London.
At least four injuries have been reported so far from the Yarl’s Wood centre near Bedfordshire. The blaze were so serious that more than 100 fire fighters from three countries battled to prevent the inferno spreading further.
Officials sources said that hundreds of detainees, mainly eastern European, were involved in the riot, which started early on Thursday evening. The situation rapidly got out of control and there were fears the state-of-the-art centre would be destroyed with appalling consequences for the estimated 400 men, women and children being detained there.
A Home Office source earlier said: “It certainly appears to be a breakout attempt and we suspect there have been escapes. There’s obviously considerable confusion at the scene, but it looks very much as if around 15 detainees got away.”
More than 200 uniformed police had been brought in from local stations and the Metropolitan Police and a cordon was in place around the centre.
The Yarl’s Wood centre is the last stop for failed asylum seekers before being deported.
POLICY ATTACKED: Britain’s policy on refugees came under attack on Friday after a blaze, believed to have been caused deliberately, allowed a group to escape, adds AFP.
Police said they had arrested seven men and a woman from a group thought to number up to 30 which escaped during the blaze at the Yarl’s Wood centre in Bedfordshire, central England. According to reports, the fire broke out after a riot sparked by anger at the treatment of a woman detainee, and led to staff being attacked by a crowd of refugees.
Police said there was a “strong possibility” the blaze was started by arsonists and that the disturbances had been “orchestrated”. The government now faces a major headache over where the detainees will be housed. The recently opened Yarl’s Wood centre is likely to close for repairs lasting months.
The treatment of asylum seekers is already a political hot potato in Britain, with groups on the right calling for a tougher line, while human rights campaigners are unhappy that refugees are detained.—AFP
