At least twelve people have lost their lives and another 54 have suffered burns in the new wave of fires that is ravaging Algeria, with special incidence in the northeast strip of the country, according to the Algerian government.
"Twelve deaths have been recorded," indicated the Algerian Interior Minister, Said Sayud, in statements collected by the Algerian official news agency APS, in which he specified that five of the fatalities occurred in the coastal province of Jijel, four in the neighboring Bugía, and three more in Tizi Uzu, located somewhat further east.
The minister, who went to the Suq El Tenín hospital, facing the Gulf of Bugía that separates Jijel from Bugía itself, also detailed that 54 people with burns have been counted. Six of them remain hospitalized in the intensive care unit and another is undergoing surgery.
Regarding the scope of the emergency, Sayud explained that the Civil Protection services recorded a total of 154 hotspots across the national territory on Wednesday. Only in the province of Bugía were 36 fires detected, of which 18 have already been extinguished, while in Jijel active fires continue in twelve municipalities. At the same time, he noted that dozens of families from the areas most affected by the flames have been evacuated.
In contrast, the fires declared in the northwestern provinces of Skikda, El Tarf, and Tebesa, as well as in the more central Buira and Tizi Uzu, have been brought under control thanks to the intervention of the Firefighters, the minister added. Sayud took the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the effort of the Civil Protection teams, the National Gendarmerie, the security forces, local authorities, and the general public in the fight against the fire.
"Algeria gives a lesson in solidarity every time, as happened with the fires at the end of July and beginning of August in Guelma, Setif, and other provinces," praised Sayud, who considered that this "cohesion has allowed for a lower toll."