11 children killed and 19 injured in an overnight orphanage fire in Algeria

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A fire at an orphanage near the capital of Algeria killed 11 children and injured 19 early Thursday, authorities said.

Algeria’s Civil Protection agency said the fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. at the two-story childcare institution in Mohammedia, in the eastern suburbs of the capital Algiers.

The ages of the victims have not been released by authorities, who did not report any adult fatalities or injuries.

Five children with reduced mobility were safely evacuated by rescue teams, while several of the injured children were transported to a hospital specializing in burns, said Lt. Col. Nassim Bernaoui, the Civil Protection head of communications.

Algeria President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his condolences from an official visit to Berlin.

“It is with a heart resigned to the will of Allah that I learned of the death of children and the injuries suffered by other children of Algeria following the fire that broke out in a childcare institution,” he said.

The fire occurred on Algeria’s National Children’s Day, during a severe heat wave that has sparked nearly 1,000 fires in the country over the past week, according to the Civil Protection agency.

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