At least 11 children have died and 19 others were injured after a fire swept through an orphanage in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers, Algeria, in the early hours of Thursday.
The blaze reportedly broke out between 3:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. at the two-storey childcare facility, triggering a swift response from firefighters and rescue teams.
Algeria’s Civil Protection Agency said the death toll remains provisional while investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. Authorities have not released the ages of the victims, but President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that several children were among those killed.
Rescue officials said five children with reduced mobility were evacuated from the building, while several injured victims were taken to a specialist burns hospital for treatment.
Residents described hearing the sound of fire engines and children screaming as the fire engulfed the orphanage before dawn. Witnesses said firefighters had to cut through metal window bars with chainsaws to rescue trapped occupants.
Head of the Forensic Medicine Department at Mustapha Bacha Hospital, Rachid Belhadj, said some of the victims were burned beyond recognition and would require DNA testing for identification.
President Tebboune, who is on an official visit to Berlin, expressed his condolences, describing the incident as a heartbreaking tragedy and praying for the victims and their families.
Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb later visited survivors receiving treatment in hospitals across Algiers.
The tragedy occurred on Algeria’s National Children’s Day and amid an intense heatwave that has triggered widespread wildfires across the country.
According to the Civil Protection Agency, 932 fires were recorded nationwide between July 8 and July 15.
More than 19,000 emergency personnel, over 700 fire trucks, six helicopters and 12 water-bombing aircraft have been deployed to tackle the fires. Several communities have also been evacuated in the provinces of Bejaia, Guelma, Bouira and Mila.
Northern Algeria experiences devastating forest fires almost every summer, with authorities attributing the worsening situation to prolonged drought, climate change and, in some cases, deliberate acts of arson.
