Police uses tear gas to crush riots in overcrowded migrant camp in Hungary

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Hungarian police used tear gas to subdue hundreds of people fighting each other in an overcrowded migrant camp in the eastern city of Debrecen on Monday.

The footage below shows several police officers standing outside of the migrant camp, where small fires were lit up and an ambulance is on location. Dozens of immigrants had climbed the fences and are closely supervised by the police.

According to authorities, the dispute started between two migrants and quickly grew into a full blown riot. Among the disturbances, fire was set to rubbish a policeman was reportedly injured by a flying rock.

Around 150 officers were needed to restore order at the camp.

Located on the outskirts of Debrecen, at about 140 miles of the capital Budapest, the migrant camp was designed to hold about 800 people, but is now crammed with over 1,600.

Being part of the European Union’s Schengen visa-free travel zone makes Hungary an attractive destination for thousands of migrants entering Europe through the Balkans.

In the first six months of this year, the number of migrants crossing into the EU via Hungary’s border with Serbia exceeded 66,000.