Algeria Orphanage Fire Kills 11

A fire burning at an orphanage on the outskirts of the Algerian capital has killed at least 11 people and injured 19, the country's civil defense said Thursday. The civil defense was "continuing efforts to put out the fire" in the Mohammadia district of Algiers, with the cause of the blaze unknown. "The provisional toll is 11 dead," it said, without specifying the age of the victims. Ten of the injured suffered burns of varying severity, while emergency crews evacuated five people ⁠with disabilities from the orphanage to safety, the civil protection agency said. National television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting the wounded in hospital. Algeria has been sweltering under a heatwave for several days, and nearly 1,000 fires have been recorded in the space of a week.