‘Overwhelming’: orphanage fire in Algeria kills 11

11 people, including children, died and 19 people were injured in a fire that broke out in an orphanage near Algiers, the capital of Algeria.

Local residents and emergency crews rushed to the building in the Mohammadia district of Algiers province, where blackened walls were visible above two window openings behind the exterior doors.

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

No details were provided about the victims, their ages or the possible cause of the fire.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his condolences in a social media post and said he received news that “children died and others were injured after a fire broke out in a child care facility.”

Elias Gabrini, 58, who lives in the Mohammadia neighborhood near the orphanage and witnessed the fire, told Reuters residents ran from their homes after hearing the fire.

“It’s really impressive. It’s not easy to see it with your own eyes,” he said.

According to state news agency APS on Wednesday, citing the General Directorate of Civil Protection, Algeria has been in the grip of a heat wave in recent days; Civil protection units have extinguished 913 fires across the country since July 8.