A fire at an orphanage in the province of Algiers has killed 11 people and injured 19 more, authorities said. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his condolences amid his trip to Berlin.

Locals and emergency crews rushed to an orphanage in the Mohammadia district of the province of Algiers on Thursday, responding to a fire at the building.

Blackened masonry was visible above two window openings behind the exterior gates and emergency services gathered outside.

What do we know about the fire? 

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Authorities in Algeria said that 11 people were killed and 19 more injured amid the fire.

Ten of the wounded suffered burns of various severity, and emergency crews helped five people with disabilities to leave the orphanage to safety, the civil protection agency said.

It gave no information at first about the victims or their ages or the possible cause of the fire.

The fire appears to have broken out overnight, with locals saying they first heard fire engines at around 3 a.m. local time.

National television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting the wounded at two medical facilities in Algiers.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was visiting Berlin for talks with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, expressed his condolences in a social media post.

Tebboune said he had received news "of the deaths of children and the injuries of others following a fire that broke out at a children's care facility."

Hundreds of fires amid severe heat wave

Algeria has faced several days of extreme summer heat, with the civil defense reporting 932 fires between July 8 and 15.

Most had been extinguished but a small number were still burning, it said.

The civil defense said it had mobilized more than 19,000 personnel and 700 trucks to battle forest fires, as well as six helicopters and 12 water-bombing aircraft.

Northern Algeria faces forest fires every summer but the phenomenon is being exacerbated by drought and climate change.

Several suspects have also been arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting some of the fires.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko