Deadly Algeria orphanage fire caused by air conditioner, police say

Police officers stand guard as vehicles leave through the entrance of an orphanage following a fire in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers on July 16, 2026. [AFP]

Algerian police on Friday said a fire that killed 11 people at an orphanage in the capital was caused by an electrical spark from an air conditioning unit.

The blaze broke out before dawn on Thursday at the childcare facility in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers.

A 52-year-old caregiver was among the dead, police said Friday, but it remains unclear how many children were killed.

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune posted online Thursday that "several children" had died. However, authorities have not disclosed the ages of the victims.

Nineteen others were injured during the fire, according to Algeria's civil defence.

Forensic experts determined that the blaze originated from an air conditioner that had been running continuously as Algeria endures a heatwave.

The civil defence has said nearly a thousand fires have broken out across the country's north during the past week, with the majority contained.

A municipal worker earlier died battling a fire in the northern province of Setif, according to a local mayor.

Every summer, northern Algeria is struck by forest fires, a phenomenon exacerbated by drought and climate change.

The fires have killed dozens of people in recent years and destroyed thousands of hectares of forest or farmland, along with numerous homes.