At least 11 people, including children, have been killed after a fire gutted an orphanage in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, as the country battles a severe heatwave that has triggered hundreds of wildfires.

The blaze broke out before dawn on Thursday at an orphanage in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers, with firefighters battling for hours to bring it under control.

A resident, Abdessalam Merrah, said fire engines arrived around 3:00 a.m. amid screams from the children inside the building.

“We helped as much as we could, but unfortunately we were told that 11 people had already died,” he said.

Algeria’s Civil Defence said the death toll was provisional, adding that 19 other people sustained injuries. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that several children were among the victims.

Meanwhile, Rachid Belhadj, head of the forensic medicine department at Mustapha Bacha Hospital, said some of the bodies were so badly burned that DNA tests would be required for identification.

Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visited survivors receiving treatment at hospitals in Algiers.

The tragedy comes as Algeria faces an intense heatwave that has fuelled nearly 1,000 fires across the country’s northern region. Between July 8 and 15, the Civil Defence recorded 932 fires, most of which have been extinguished.

Authorities said more than 19,000 emergency personnel, 700 fire trucks, six helicopters and 12 water-bombing aircraft have been deployed to tackle the blazes, while residents in several provinces have been evacuated.

Northern Algeria experiences forest fires every summer, but officials say rising temperatures, prolonged drought and climate change have worsened the situation. Authorities also believe some of the fires were deliberately started, with several suspects already arrested.