Fires raged through the “Jungle” migrant camp in Calais, France, on Wednesday, destroying homes to thousands of migrants.
The makeshift shelters have become a symbol of Europe’s migrant crisis – serving as a base for migrants who tried to reach Britain. Starting Monday, French authorities have begun to demolish the camp and resettle the migrants to shelters near France.
Here are some devastating pictures of the aftermath.
A single fire lit overnight has turned to raging flames that destroyed the makeshift shelter for thousands of migrants who tried to cross the Channel illegally to reach Britain.
Source: BBC
Smoke and flames fill the sky on the third day of a French operation to dismantle the camp, following days of clashes between police and holdouts who refused to leave the “Jungle.”
Source: CNN
More than 4,000 migrants — out of 7,000 — have been forced to leave the camp and were transferred to reception centers in France. Many others are still desperate to make it to England.
Source: CNN
French police are investigating claims made by migrants that a group of British anarchists set off the first blazes and put gas canisters around the flames. Four Afghan migrants were arrested.
Source: The Telegraph
Black smoke rose in the sky as terrified migrants gathered their belongings and fled the inferno.
French riot police secure the area near burning shelters.
Firefighters struggle to extinguish the dozens of fires through the camp.
Camp residents complained that the firefighters came too late, "For a long time it was just us, migrants, and volunteers, fighting the fires."
Source: BBC
A migrant adjusts a French flag that files on a makeshift shelter.
Source: BBC
"We left our nations behind us in flames, only to find the Jungle go up in flames too," said Aziz Yaacoub, one holdout from Sudan.
Source: Agence France-Presse