ALGIERS, Algeria: Forest fires killed 12 people and injured dozens in northeastern Algeria on Wednesday, the interior minister and civil protection authorities said.
The tolls rose from earlier local media reports of two deaths and an unspecified number of injuries in coastal Bejaia province, around 300 kilometers (190 miles) from the capital Algiers.
Five people were killed in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou province, Interior Minister Said Sayoud told national television.
A further 54 people were being treated for burns, including six serious cases, at a hospital in Bejaia, he said.
An eight-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman were among those killed in Bejaia, a local radio station reported.
