• At least 11 people, including children, have died in an orphanage fire in Algiers.
• The fire broke out around 3:00 a.m. local time and left 19 others injured.
• Rescue efforts were complicated by ongoing wildfires across Algeria due to a heatwave.

A devastating fire at a state-run orphanage in Mohammadia, Algiers, has tragically claimed the lives of 11 individuals, including children, and injured 19 others. The inferno erupted early Thursday morning, around 3:00 a.m., as firefighters struggled to control the flames amid a severe heatwave affecting the region. Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire, the cause of which remains undetermined, according to Africanews and Al Jazeera.

The facility provided care to orphans and children with special needs, offering a mixture of residential support and medical services. Emergency responders, who treated several injuries caused by burns and smoke inhalation, managed to evacuate five children with mobility difficulties. Witnesses reported hearing the sounds of children in distress during the fire, which has raised urgent questions regarding safety protocols in children's care facilities, as detailed by Los Angeles Times and Africanews.

This tragic event comes during an extreme heatwave in Algeria, which has sparked almost 1,000 wildfires across the country in just a week. Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune have expressed their condolences to the victims' families, and investigations into the fire's cause are underway, according to Al Jazeera and Los Angeles Times.