A fire that tore through a residential care institution in the Mohammadia suburb east of Algiers in the early hours of Thursday, 16 July, killed 11 people and injured 19, according to Algerian civil protection and police statements. The state-run Childhood Relief Institution housed orphans, abandoned minors, and children with special needs. First responders were alerted around 3:30 a.m. local time and deployed six fire engines, six ambulances, and specialist rescue teams, but were unable to prevent the deaths.

Among the dead was a 52-year-old female educator, the national police (DGSN) confirmed on Friday, indicating the remaining victims were children or adolescents. Civil protection officials said 10 of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, two were treated for severe smoke inhalation, and seven for acute psychological shock. Five residents with disabilities were evacuated to safety. Initial reports from some local media described all the deceased as children, but the police statement clarified the presence of an adult staff member among the fatalities.

Investigators from the scientific police and crime-scene technicians concluded the blaze originated from an electrical spark in an air-conditioning unit installed in a first-floor bedroom. The spark was “probably due to its uninterrupted operation in a context of sharply rising temperatures,” the DGSN said, as northern Algeria has been gripped by an intense heatwave. The civil protection agency recorded 932 fires across the country in the preceding week, 913 of which had been extinguished by Wednesday morning.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was on a working visit to Berlin, offered condolences on social media, saying he had received the news “with resignation to the will and destiny of God.” The United Arab Emirates and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also expressed solidarity. Within Algeria, political parties and civil society groups called for a full inquiry to determine whether human or material failures contributed to the heavy toll.

The police investigation remains open, and authorities have not yet released the ages of the child victims. The orphanage, which provides shelter, medical care, and social support, is now the focus of a broader official examination into safety conditions at such institutions.