Disasters & Incidents
Police say air conditioner spark caused deadly Algiers orphanage fire
Algerian police said on Friday that an electrical spark from an air conditioning unit caused a fire that killed 11 people at an orphanage in the capital. The blaze broke out before dawn on Thursday at a childcare facility in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers. Police said a 52-year-old caregiver was among those killed, but it remains unclear how many children died. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said online on Thursday that several children had been killed, but authorities have not disclosed the victims' ages. Algeria's civil defence said 19 other people were injured. Police said forensic experts found that the fire started from an air conditioner that had been running continuously as Algeria faced a heatwave. Civil defence has said nearly a thousand fires have broken out across northern Algeria during the past week, with most contained. A local mayor said a municipal worker earlier died while fighting a fire in the northern province of Setif. Northern Algeria is affected by forest fires every summer, and the source said drought and climate change have worsened the phenomenon. Fires in recent years have killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of hectares of forest or farmland, as well as many homes.
Update
Algerian police said the fire was caused by an electrical spark from an air conditioning unit.
Police said a 52-year-old caregiver was among the dead.
Authorities have not disclosed the ages of the victims, and it remains unclear how many children were killed.
Police said forensic experts found the fire began from an air conditioner that had been running continuously during a heatwave.
Algeria's civil defence said nearly a thousand fires had broken out across northern Algeria during the past week, most of them contained.
A municipal worker earlier died while fighting a fire in Setif province, according to a local mayor.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 11:43:58 UTC.
Update
State media reported that Algeria's president said several children died in the orphanage fire.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 July 2026 at 09:46:07 UTC.
Update
National television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting wounded people in hospital.
Algeria has been under a heatwave for several days.
Nearly 1,000 fires have been recorded in Algeria in the space of a week.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 July 2026 at 07:32:10 UTC.
Update
The fire was in the Mohammadia district of Algiers.
Algeria's civil defence said efforts to put out the fire were continuing.
The civil defence described the death toll as provisional.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 July 2026 at 07:09:36 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Authorities have not disclosed the ages of the victims.
It remains unclear how many children were killed.
Source
AFP news report published on .