The fire at the asylum accommodation in Rüthen, in North Rhine Westphalia, in the night from Saturday to Sunday, resulted in about 20 people suffering from smoke inhalation, and they had to be treated by paramedics on-site in the night to Sunday.
An occupant of the accommodation has been arrested as the suspect. The 22-year-old Moroccan is suspected to have initiated the fire in his room. The man was drunk, authorities announced.
Early Sunday morning, a fire broke out, too, in the fitness room of a migrant centre in Jürgenstorf, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. A foam mattress was set alight. Smoke spread throughout the building, with firemen evacuating all 120 occupants. No one was injured, authorities say. The Police ruled out arson committed by outsiders.
Late Friday evening, a room was set alight in a migrant centre in Ettringen, Bavaria. One occupant was injured in the fire. He had suffered from smoke inhalation, police announced. When the fire broke out on Friday evening there were 18 people in the building. Many of the occupants were only dressed lightly and were provided with blankets by the rescuers.
The accommodation will not be inhabitable in the near future, it was announced. It was still unclear how the fire broke out.
In Düsseldorf, on June 7, 2016, the migrant centre in Messehallen burned to the ground. A Moroccan started the fire, because he was dissatisfied with the Ramadan dinner.
A team of reporters from Die Zeit accusing the “far-right” of arson attacks, had looked into 222 arson incidents at migrant hostels in 2015. The result: There were only four instances in which courts have convicted a perpetrator and only eight additional cases in which charges have been filed.