Algeria Orphanage Fire Kills 11 With 19 Injured Amid Brutal Heatwave

At least 11 people have died and 19 others have been injured following a fire at an orphanage in a suburb of Algiers, according to the Algerian Civil Defence on Thursday. Emergency crews are still working to extinguish the blaze in the capital's Mohammadia district. While the cause of the fire remains unknown, officials confirmed the provisional death toll without detailing the ages of the victims.

National television broadcasted images of Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting survivors in the hospital. The tragedy comes as Algeria endures a severe heatwave, which has sparked nearly 1,000 fires across the country over the past week. The fire broke out at an orphanage in the Mohammadia district in the Eastern suburbs of Algiers. The cause of this fire was unknown and  the civil defence was "continuing efforts to put out the fire",

Ten of the injured suffered burns of varying severity while the emergency crew helped people with disabilities from the orphanage to safety, says the civil protection agency. It also said that the firefighting operations were going on and did not immediately identify the victims and the ages or what was the reason for the fire.

The country has been experiencing severe heatwaves in recent days where the civil protection units have extinguished over 900 fires nationwide since July 8, reported the state news agency APS on Wednesday.