Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb has visited survivors of a devastating fire at an orphanage in Algiers that killed at least 11 people, including several children, as authorities continue investigating the cause of the tragedy. The fire broke out before dawn on Thursday at the Fondation de l’Enfance Assistée in the Mohammadia district, east of the Algerian capital. Emergency services responded shortly after 3:00 a.m., battling the blaze for several hours while rescuing children trapped inside the facility. According to Algeria’s Civil Defence, at least 19 other people were injured, while the death toll remains provisional as investigations continue.
Speaking during a visit to survivors receiving treatment in hospital, Prime Minister Ghrieb conveyed condolences on behalf of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the government. “On behalf of the president and the members of the government, I extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” he said. President Tebboune later confirmed that several of those who died were children. Residents living near the orphanage described chaotic scenes as firefighters worked to rescue those trapped inside. One witness, Abdessalam Merrah, said he was awakened by the sound of fire engines and the cries of children. “We heard the fire engines arriving around 3:00 a.m. and the children screaming. We tried to help, but we were later told that 11 people had already died,” he said.
An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing blackened windows and extensive fire damage, while witnesses said firefighters used chainsaws to cut through metal security bars to reach victims inside the building. Rachid Belhadj, head of the forensic medicine department at Mustapha Bacha Hospital, said some of the victims were so badly burned that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. The tragedy comes as Algeria experiences an intense heatwave that has fueled nearly 1,000 fires nationwide over the past week, stretching emergency services across the country. Authorities have not yet determined whether the extreme weather contributed to the orphanage fire.
