ALGIERS / Abbas Mimouni / Anadolu Agency

Algerian police said on Friday that the cause of the fire that killed 11 people, including a 52-year-old caregiver, inside the headquarters of the 'Enfance Assistée' institution in the Mohammadia municipality of the Algerian capital on Thursday, was an electrical spark.

This was stated in a statement by the General Directorate of National Security.

The statement said that specialized teams 'immediately launched an investigation into the circumstances of the tragic incident, which killed 11 people, including a 52-year-old caregiver, and injured others.'

It added that 'forensic police experts and crime scene technicians concluded, after inspection, that the cause of the fire was due to an electrical spark emanating from an air conditioner in one of the rooms on the first floor of the facility, as a result of the air conditioner running continuously amid the high temperature of the weather.'

The statement clarified that the investigation into the case 'is still ongoing by the competent services of the National Security.'

On Thursday dawn, the General Directorate of Civil Protection (Civil Defense) announced the outbreak of a fire at an orphanage in the Mohammadia municipality, east of the Algerian capital.

It said in a statement that the fire resulted, in an initial toll, in the deaths of 11 people and injuries to 19 others, without revealing the causes of the outbreak.

A heat wave is affecting several Algerian provinces and is expected to continue until Friday, according to a statement by the meteorological services.

Algeria has been experiencing drought waves and rising temperatures in recent years, increasing the risks of forest fires and vegetation cover fires.

Widespread fires that the country witnessed in past years caused the deaths and injuries of dozens of people, as well as the destruction of large areas of forests and vegetation cover.

The recurrent fires have prompted the authorities to tighten penalties against those responsible for starting them, reaching in some cases imprisonment for up to 30 years.