Fire sweeps through a poor Roma settlement in eastern Slovakia, leaving 5 dead, including 4 children

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A fire that hit a poor Roma settlement in eastern Slovakia killed five people, four of them children, officials said on Thursday.

The town hall in Velky Saris said the blaze destroyed eight houses where 30 people lived.

It said 11 adults and seven children were placed in a community center after their houses were damaged in the fire.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire that broke before midnight.

The Roma are the most socially excluded minority group in Slovakia, who have long suffered discrimination, marginalization and poverty.

The settlement is one of hundreds of shabby, segregated settlements where the poorest 20% of Slovakia’s 400,000 Roma live.

Most lack basics such as running water or sewage systems, gas or electricity.