MYTILENE — The ferry Blue Star Chios, which is to house 1,000 asylum-seekers left homeless after the fire at the Moria hotspot, docked at the harbour of Sigri, Lesvos on Thursday, roughly 100 km from the island's main town of Mytilene.

Based on the government's plans, another 1,000 camp residents will be housed in Hellenic Navy ships which have not yet reached the island.

At the same time , Moria residents supported by the municipal authority of Mytilene have blocked one of the roads leading to the burned Moria hotspot in order to prevent the access of machinery and equipment for the clean up and temporary operation of the area as camp. Access from the other end of the road is also blocked as it is occupied by the fire-stricken camp's residents.

In a statement, the mayor of Mytilene Stratis Kytelis said that he embraces the citizens' indignation over the current situation and, following the decisions of the municipal council to the letter, will continue to put all his efforts into a permanent shut down of the Moria hotspot, insisting on its decision that there must be "no [asylum-seeker] facility on Lesvos".

The mayor called on "anyone who wants and can to stand beside him and to contribute at this crucial moment, which may signal the final closure of the Moria hotspot".