More than 100 hospitalised after wildfires hit homes in north-eastern Algeria

More than 100 people were hospitalised after wildfires reached nearly 150 homes in Seraidi, a small town in north-eastern Algeria, Interior Minister Said Sayoud said. The fires began on Tuesday in Seraidi, west of the city of Annaba, in an area surrounded by forests. Sayoud said civil protection crews were still fighting the fires on Wednesday morning. Speaking at a local hospital, he said most of the people taken to hospital were in a stable and reassuring condition. He also said more than 150 homes had been affected by the fires. Algeria has been dealing with hundreds of wildfires for days. The interior ministry said at least six people had died in several provinces. The source said northern Algeria is hit by forest fires every summer and that drought and climate change have worsened the phenomenon. It also said dozens of people have been killed in recent years and thousands of hectares of forest or farmland, as well as many homes, have been destroyed.