A massive fire disrupted the COP30 summit in Brazil on November 20, triggering a mass evacuation of hundreds of delegates and UN officials.
While the fire was contained, the incident has raised serious concerns about the safety of the delegates. UN has confirmed that no one was physically hurt but many required immediate medical attention.
“People are pretty traumatised and shocked,” Dr Harshita Umesh — an attendee — told BBC. “There's a huge panic, people have been running out of here, it's a very dramatic moment... UN security guards are telling us to leave,” she added.
After the fire broke out, orange flames burned a hole through the sheeting that covers the venue, which is in a former aerodrome. One video shows a man spraying a fire extinguisher at the fire before running away.
Quick reminder: this is COP30’s crisis #3. Previously, indigenous protesters stormed the venue triggering a standoff with security forces. The very next day they blockaded the entrance demanding to speak to Brazil president about the plight of the country’s native population.
The blaze engulfed pavilions at the summit site burning a hole through its fabric ceiling. Hundreds of delegates and officials were evacuated as firefighters and ambulances rushed in.
A cloud of acrid smoke engulfed the venue, but officials say the fire was contained swiftly. Though authorities have not confirmed what caused the fire, reports point to a short circuit or other electrical malfunction in a microwave.
Kimberly Humphrey, an emergency medicine physician attending COP30 with Doctors for the Environment Australia, was in a meeting when she received alerts of a fire.
Outside she could "smell smoke and burning plastic. There was no alarms, there was no whistles... only people running and yelling and evacuating."
She found a medical center where people were being treated for shock and smoke inhalation, and started working with others to help those in need. "It's not what you expect to happen when you are at a conference," she told AFP.
"Initially, there's a sense of disbelief... The first thing I thought was, 'Oh, this isn't real,'" Humphrey said.
"It's really a combination of terror and not having a good emergency plan, not knowing where the exits are, but also what I need to do as a doctor and needing to help people, too."
