Mamadou Konate, 33, and Nouhou Doumbia, 36, killed at shantytown known as ‘Gran Ghetto’ in Puglia

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Two refugees from Mali have died after a fire broke out at a camp for farm workers in the southern Italian region of Puglia, two days after it had been ordered to be cleared.

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Investigators said they had not ruled out arson as a possible cause of the blaze, which consumed sections of a shantytown known as the “Gran Ghetto”, usually home to about 350 people. The two victims were identified as Mamadou Konate, 33, and Nouhou Doumbia, 36.



The fire is believed to have started at about 1am on Friday and quickly engulfed part of the 5,000-sq-metre camp, in which workers live in makeshift huts made of cardboard and plastic tarps.

The Italian news agency quoted a firefighter as saying arson had not been excluded. Other investigators said they suspected the blaze could have been started by a faulty portable stove, which may have been left on as a source of heat.

Two other fires have broken out in the camp in recent years.

Authorities had ordered the clearing of the area on Wednesday but 100 workers remained in place, fearful that leaving would mean they would lose their jobs.

The camp is home to migrant farm workers who often work under slave-like conditions and are controlled by local organised crime groups.

According to media reports, police and firefighters were at the scene when the fire broke out, but it spread so quickly that the two victims had too little time to escape the flames. The body of one of the men was reportedly found charred and lying on a cot.

The exploitation of farm workers, usually poor refugees from Africa, has been a problem in Italy for decades. Michele Emiliano, the president of Puglia, called the camp a “disgrace, which has grown out of years of indifference”.