Deadly blaze at Algiers orphanage leaves 11 dead, 19 injured

Some eleven people, including children, were killed and ​19 injured in a fire at an orphanage ‌close to the Algerian capital Algiers early on July 16, Reuters reports.

Locals and emergency crews rushed to the building in the Mohammadia district of ​the province of Algiers, where blackened masonry was ​visible above two window openings behind the exterior gates.

Ten ⁠of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, and ​emergency crews evacuated five people with disabilities from the orphanage ​to safety, the civil protection agency said.

It gave no details about the victims or their ages or the possible cause of the fire.

Algerian ​President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his condolences in a social media ​post, saying he had received news "of the deaths of children and the ‌injuries ⁠of others following a fire that broke out at a children's care facility."

Elias Gabrini, 58, a resident in the Mohammadia neighbourhood near the orphanage who witnessed the fire, said residents rushed ​from their ⁠homes after hearing about the fire.

"It's truly overwhelming. Seeing this with your own eyes is ​not easy," he said.

Algeria has been gripped by ​a ⁠heatwave in recent days, with civil protection units extinguishing 913 fires nationwide since July 8, state news agency reported on ⁠July 15, ​citing the General Directorate of Civil ​Protection.

By Vafa Guliyeva