Fire at Algerian Orphanage Kills 11, Injures 19

A fire broke out overnight at an orphanage in the Mohammadia district of Algiers province. Local residents and emergency crews responded after fire engines arrived around 3 a.m. on Thursday. Authorities said 11 people died and 19 others were injured. Ten of the wounded suffered burns of varying severity. Emergency crews helped five people with disabilities leave the building.

National television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting the wounded at two medical facilities in Algiers. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was in Berlin for talks with German leaders, expressed condolences in a social media post. The civil defense reported 932 fires between July 8 and 15.

Most have been extinguished, though some continue to burn. The civil defense mobilized more than 19,000 personnel, 700 trucks, six helicopters, and 12 water-bombing aircraft to fight forest fires. Several suspects have been arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting some of the fires.