Algiers, Jul. 24, (dpa/GNA) – At least 15 people have been killed due to wildfires in Algeria on Monday as a heatwave hit North African countries.
The Ministry of Interior said 15 people were killed and 26 injured due to the fires which erupted since Sunday night across 16 provinces, as wind led fires to spread to residential areas.
Around 1,500 people have been evacuated from their villages.
Some 7,500 rescue personnel were deployed to help people, the Interior Ministry added.
The Ministry of Defence later on Monday said that 10 soldiers have been killed. It was not clear if they were included in the Interior Ministry’s death toll earlier in the day.
In neighbouring Tunisia, firefighters have been working to put out fires that erupted in the western forest areas near the border with Algeria.
Authorities said they have evacuated all residents in the region. Temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius in the capital, Tunis, and the coastal city of Bizerte, the highest ever recorded in these cities, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
The Ministry of Health said hospitals have received several cases suffering from heatstroke.
GNA