At least 11 children have tragically lost their lives, and 19 others sustained injuries in a fire that erupted at a children’s care facility in Algeria. The devastating incident occurred at approximately 3:30 am today at an orphanage located in the Mohammadia district of Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Reports from local sources confirmed that all the victims were children.
Algeria’s president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, stated that “several children” were among the deceased individuals. Ten individuals suffered various degrees of burns, while five others with special needs were safely evacuated from the premises in the North African nation. Algeria’s General Directorate of Civil Protection reported that two individuals experienced respiratory issues, and seven were in a state of shock. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
In response to the tragic event at the Dar Al-Aytam Orphanage in the Mohammadia municipality, the Civil Protection services swiftly intervened at 3:32 am to extinguish the fire. The operation involved the deployment of ten fire trucks, 16 ambulances, two ladder trucks, and the GRIMP (Ground Rock Intervention Unit). The Director General of Civil Protection, Colonel Boualem Boughlaf, personally oversaw the firefighting efforts and coordinated the response of the emergency services at the scene.
Images captured at the site depicted thick smoke emanating from the building as firefighting teams worked diligently to contain the blaze. Algeria has been grappling with a severe heatwave in recent days, with over 900 fires reportedly extinguished across the country since July 8.