Tunis.- The cause of the fire that broke out early Thursday morning at a children’s medical foundation in Algeria was a “spark” in an air conditioner in the area where the minors were sleeping, the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), the main police force, reported this Friday.
The fire originated in a room on the first floor, where a short circuit occurred, “due to the continuous operation of the air conditioning, necessary because of the significant increase in heat” in the country in recent days, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.
As a consequence of the fire -which originated around 3:00 a.m. local time on Thursday (2:00 GMT)-, eleven children died and 19 people -including several minors- were injured with injuries of varying severity.
The incident occurred at a clinical facility of the Childhood Foundation, in the Mohammedia municipality, in Algiers, where the extinguishing and control efforts of the fire lasted for almost twelve hours, according to Civil Protection sources, who did not specify the number of people who were inside the building at the time of the event.
They also did not detail how many children are among the injured, of whom ten suffered severe burns, two were affected by respiratory problems, and seven “with minor injuries” were also treated for anxiety attacks.
After learning of the incident, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune -on an official visit to Germany- conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and ordered the authorities to provide “all support and supervision” to the injured, who are admitted to two hospitals in the capital.
The DGSN explained that, despite the cause of the incident being known, “the investigation into the case remains open to obtain further information.”
