Fire at "Al-Tifla Al-Mus'ifa" in Algeria

Algerian state media reported that 11 people were killed and 19 others injured in a fire that broke out at an orphanage on the outskirts of the Algerian capital in the early hours of today. The blaze erupted at the Secours à l’Enfance institution in the Mohammadia neighborhood, in the eastern suburbs of Algiers.

The General Directorate of Civil Protection said in a statement relayed by Reuters today that 10 of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, while emergency teams evacuated five people with disabilities from the orphanage to a safe location.

It added that firefighting operations were still ongoing, and the identities of the deceased and injured had not yet been determined, nor had their ages been revealed or the cause of the fire disclosed.

Algeria has been experiencing a heatwave for several days. The official Algerian News Agency reported today, citing the Civil Protection, that protection units had extinguished 913 fires nationwide since July 8.