At least 11 people, including children, were killed and 19 others injured after a fire tore through an orphanage in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers early Thursday, Algerian authorities said.
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The blaze broke out at around 3:00–3:30 a.m. at the two-storey childcare institution on the eastern outskirts of the Algerian capital, triggering an emergency response by firefighters and rescue teams.
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Algeria’s Civil Protection agency said the death toll remained provisional and that the cause of the fire was still under investigation. The ages of the victims had not been officially released, though President Abdelmadjid Tebboune later confirmed that several children were among those killed. Authorities said there were no reported adult fatalities.
Civil Protection communications chief Lt. Col. Nassim Bernaoui said rescue workers evacuated five children with reduced mobility from the building and transported several of the injured to a specialist burns hospital. Residents described scenes of panic as firefighters battled the blaze before dawn.
Abdessalam Merrah, 41, who lives near the orphanage, recalled being woken by the sound of fire engines and children’s screams around 3 a.m. He said neighbours assisted where they could, but were later told 11 people had already died. Black soot stains were visible around the building’s windows on Thursday morning, while witnesses said firefighters used a chainsaw to cut through metal bars on one of the windows during the rescue effort.
Rachid Belhadj, head of the forensic medicine department at Mustapha Bacha Hospital, told local television that some victims’ remains were so severely burned that DNA testing would be required for identification.
President Tebboune, who was on an official visit to Berlin at the time, expressed condolences over the tragedy, saying he had learned of the deaths and injuries with sorrow. Algerian state television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting survivors receiving treatment at two hospitals in Algiers.
The tragedy occurred on Algeria’s National Children’s Day and amid an intense heatwave that has fuelled widespread wildfires across the country.
Nationwide Wildfire Crisis
According to the Civil Protection agency, 932 fires were recorded nationwide between July 8 and July 15, with most since extinguished though several remained active. One municipal worker died while battling a wildfire in the northern province of Sétif on Wednesday, local authorities said. Civil Protection has deployed more than 19,000 personnel, over 700 fire trucks, six helicopters and 12 water-bombing aircraft in the firefighting effort, while residents have been evacuated from parts of Bejaia, Guelma, Bouira and Mila provinces.
Northern Algeria experiences forest fires every summer, with authorities attributing their increasing frequency and intensity to prolonged drought and climate change. Officials have also alleged that some fires were deliberately started, with several suspects arrested in recent years.
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