12 Killed, Dozens Injured In Algeria Wildfires
Forest fires in northeastern Algeria have resulted in 12 deaths and dozens of injuries across the Bejaia, Jijel, and Tizi Ouzou provinces. Authorities are currently battling 69 active blazes fueled by strong winds and exacerbated by climate-driven droughts.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the increasing vulnerability of North African regions to extreme weather events and the growing human cost of climate change.
Forest fires killed 12 people and injured dozens in northeastern Algeria on Wednesday, the interior minister and civil protection authorities said. The tolls rose from earlier local media reports of two deaths and an unspecified number of injuries in coastal Bejaia province, around 300 kilometres (190 miles) from the capital Algiers.Five people were killed in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou province, Interior Minister Said Sayoud told national television.A further 54 people were being treated for burns, including six serious cases, at a hospital in Bejaia, he said.An eight-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman were among those killed in Bejaia, a local radio station reported.Sayoud and Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene had travelled to Bejaia to "assess the progress of firefighting operations on the ground...
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in