Forest fires are also raging on Algeria’s Mediterranean coast. According to the government, at least 15 people died there – 1,500 had to be brought to safety. In neighboring Tunisia, firefighters are also fighting the flames.
As in other countries in the Mediterranean region, fires in Algeria and Tunisia have caused major damage and also resulted in fatalities there. At least 15 people died in fires in Algeria, the interior ministry said. 26 others have been injured since the fire broke out on Sunday.
The Ministry of Defense said ten soldiers were killed. It remained unclear whether they had already been included in earlier information from the Ministry of the Interior. Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.
7500 firefighters on duty
1,500 people had to be brought to safety from the provinces of Bidschaja, Bouira and Jejdschal on the Mediterranean coast east of the capital Algiers, which were particularly badly affected. The flames spread quickly in the face of strong winds. According to the authorities, these should be under control again thanks to the deployment of around 7,500 firefighters and firefighting aircraft.
Six provinces continued to work to extinguish the fires. Overall, the Interior Ministry recorded 97 fires in 16 provinces. Algeria often struggles with violent forest fires in summer, which claimed 37 lives last year and 90 in 2021.
2500 people brought to safety
Algeria’s neighbor Tunisia reported up to 50 degrees Celsius. The heat wave has affected large parts of the country. In the capital Tunis it was 48 degrees Celsius. In forests near the Algerian border, firefighters battled fires that had been raging there for several days. A major fire broke out in a Tunisian pine forest near the Algerian border just last week.
Several people suffered heat stroke and were taken to hospitals. According to media reports, around 2,500 people were brought to safety. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, hundreds of families in the border town of Melloula are said to have been forced to flee. A Tunisian civil defense official said hundreds of people had been evacuated by sea in fishing boats and coastguard vessels.