The fire broke out in a dormitory at a state-owned daycare center in the country’s capital, officials said.
At least 11 people, including children, have been killed and 19 others injured in a fire at an orphanage in Algeria’s capital, authorities in the North African nation said Thursday.
The fire broke out before dawn in a dormitory at a government-run childcare center in Mohammadia, a district east of Algiers. Ten of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, two had difficulty breathing, and seven were treated. “psychological shock,” Algerian Civil Defense authorities wrote on Facebook.
The organization has said that five others with special needs were moved to a safe place, while firefighters continue to extinguish the fire.
Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visited the victims receiving treatment at the Zeralda Hospital who suffered severe burns and the Mustapha Pacha University Hospital in Algiers.
Speaking on behalf of the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Ghrieb expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that the government is in full solidarity with those affected, according to an official statement.
He also instructed the authorities to provide comprehensive medical and psychological care to the injured and support to the bereaved families.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
In the past, Algeria has suffered from serious fires in institutions that shelter vulnerable people. In September 2019, eight children were killed when a fire broke out in the parental ward of a hospital in the eastern city of El Oued. Emergency services rescued another 11 children, more than 100 women, and 28 hospital workers.
The fire at the orphanage comes as Algeria is battling a wave of fires in several provinces. On Thursday, the Civil Defense service said its crews had responded to 115 fires in forests, fields, agriculture and palm trees in the past 24 hours. It said 89 were completely extinguished, 14 were under protection after being suppressed, and 14 remained alive, with firefighting aircraft, regional forces, and mobile units dispatched to several affected areas. No loss was reported in the update.
Wildfires are a frequent summer hazard in northern and eastern Algeria, where extreme heat, dry vegetation, and strong winds can cause flames to spread rapidly. The World Bank has described forest fires as a constant threat to the country and links the increasing risk to climate change.
You can share this story on social networks:
Follow RT on
