A three-month-old baby died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at the sports hall at the application center for asylum seekers in Ter Apel. A spokesperson for COA confirms this after a report from Het Parool.
The exact death of the baby is still under investigation, the spokesperson said. Medical assistance has been provided to the victim.
Among the residents at the reception center in Ter Apel there is “sadness and impotence”, according to the spokesperson. “They are offered appropriate support.” The COA staff is also “deeply shocked by the terrible event”.
Some of the people sleep in emergency shelter in a sports hall because it has been too busy at the registration center at Ter Apel for some time. Last night 700 people had to sleep outside. That is the highest number ever. The nights before, hundreds of people had to sleep outside because of the crowds.
State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Policy) says that he is fully engaged in a temporary extra reception location near Ter Apel. Asylum seekers could be accommodated there for a short time if they cannot immediately go to the application center in Ter Apel. “It is really not possible what we see now,” responds Van der Burg. This temporary location should not be in Ter Apel itself, because the village is already overloaded, but in a municipality that is not too far away.
The intention is that people who want to register for an asylum procedure first go to the new location if the application center is too full. They can sleep there and are then transferred to Ter Apel. The Secretary of State is not sure whether it will work. “I hope so, but to expect I need something more.”