See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER Published: 20:27 BST, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 20:56 BST, 16 July 2026
An orphanage fire in Algeria on Thursday killed 11 children and injured 19 others.The fire started at around 3.30am at the two-storey building in Mohammedia, in the eastern suburbs of Algiers, authorities said.It is currently unknown what caused the fire and none of the children's ages have been released, though there were no adult fatalities or injuries.Five children with mobility issues were evacuated by rescue teams while some of the injured were taken to a burns specialist hospital, a spokesman for the Civil Protection department said.Yassin Ibrize, who lives nearby, said he heard the commotion when the fire broke out and rushed to try and save children trapped inside.'We heard screams and voices coming from the burning orphanage, and then I saw that the flames had begun to engulf the place and the girls were inside. I ran out without a shirt on,' he said.'I did everything I could to save as many people as possible. And thank God, I saved three girls.'He said his shoulder, head and pelvis were injured and he was covered in bandages after his efforts, which his son Amir also joined to help with. Rescuers and police worked to fight the fire near Algiers, Algeria, on Thursday morning Officers guarded the orphanage after the fire, which killed 11 children, had been put outAmir said: 'When the screams intensified, I was the first one out. I found an officer completely overwhelmed, and when I tried to go upstairs, there was too much smoke. I couldn't get through.'Security officials guarded the orphanage's entrance after the fire, the building now marked with charred, empty window frames.Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune made a statement from Berlin, where he is on an official visit, in which he shared his condolences.'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,' Tebboune said of the fire, which broke out on Algeria's national children's day.The country is in the midst of a heatwave which has sparked almost 1,000 fires in recent days, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
