On Friday 22nd March a massive fire broke out in the Ban Mae Surin refugee Temporary Shelter located in Khun Yuam District, Mae Hong Son Province. The incident left 37 dead and others seriously injured, and completely ravaged two sections of the camp destroying the homes and limited possessions of 2,300 refugees (more than half of the entire population). This situation report presents the joint humanitarian response, up‐dates on the priority requirements, and indicates the agreed actions.

GeneralUpdate on Situation:

The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) sent an initial sum of US$20,000 to assist Karenni refugees whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed in a fire in a refugee camp in Thailand, killing 37 persons.

The Karenni are a subgroup of the Karen people living mostly in Kayah State (formerly Karenni State) of Myanmar. Many of the refugees fled conflict zones in Kayah and Karen states.

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

EMERGENCY APPEAL:
THAI-BURMA BORDER REFUGEE CAMP FIRE

APPEAL # 700-F
APPEAL GOAL: $40,000

APRIL 4, 2013

SITUATION: Thirty-six people died in a fire that broke out March 22 in the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp, in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand.

The fire swept through two sections of the camp destroying nearly everything; the fire was caused by a cooking accident.

BANGKOK, 28 March 2013 (NNT) – The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) will construct a temporary shelter under a joint effort with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to help refugees affected by the camp inferno in Mae Hong Son province.

According to DDPM Director General Chatchai Promlert, the DDPM's provincial offices in Kamphaeng Phet, Phitsanulok, Lampang and Chiang Rai have been instructed to accelerate assistance for the refugees until the situation returns to normal.

Bangkok, 26 March 2013 – A fire that swept through Mae Surin refugee camp in northern Thailand on Friday has been met with swift relief by NGOs and community-based organisations. According to JRS staff, 37 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers lost their lives and several thousands have been made homeless.

"There has been a good coordinated response led by the refugee community to care for the survivors who have lost their homes", said JRS Thailand Director, Pauline Aaron.

More than 30 refugees from Myanmar have died and four are seriously injured after a fire broke out on Friday afternoon in Ban Mae Surin refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province, north-western Thailand.

Many of the victims have been taken to local hospitals. The authorities are investigating the cause of the fire that destroyed hundreds of thatched huts in two camp sectors before it was put out on Friday evening. Some 2,300 refugees have lost their homes and possessions in the disaster. Initial reports suggest the blaze was sparked by a cooking accident.

1. Thailand - On 22 March, a fire sparked by a domestic accident broke out in Ban Mae Surin refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province, northwestern Thailand. 30 refugees from Myanmar were killed and four were seriously injured. Relief efforts are being coordinated by the Government of Thailand, as well as provincial and camp authorities. UNHCR, IRC and other NGOs are providing assistance.
   Source: OCHA

03/23/2013 07:52 GMT

MAE SURIN, Thailand, March 23, 2013 (AFP) - The toll from a blaze that swept through a camp in northern Thailand has risen to 45, authorities said Saturday, after hundreds of shelters for refugees from Myanmar were reduced to ashes.

Over 100 people were injured in Friday's fire, which destroyed about 400 homes at the Mae Surin camp in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand's Interior Ministry said as it updated the death toll.

New Name: The Border Consortium