According to a “provisional report” from the interior minister of the nation in north Africa, wildfires burning in the woods of eastern Algeria have claimed the lives of 26 individuals.
The death toll was close to 40 according to local media, although authorities could not immediately confirm those numbers.
Near the northern Algerian-Tunisian border, in the wilaya, or area, of El Tarf, where 24 people have been discovered dead, eight of them on a public bus that was engulfed in flames while being driven through a hilly area, the majority of casualties have been reported.
On national television late on Wednesday, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud said that two individuals had died in the Setif area, which is located around 185 miles east of Algiers.
He said on Wednesday that since the start of August, more than 12 square miles of forest and brush had been destroyed by flames. Of these, 39 fires have begun in 14 locations, including 16 in El Tarf.
Beldjoud said in a statement shown on television that the fires were being fueled in part by dry weather and scorching air temperatures over 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a message to the victims, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune extended his sympathy and support. He said that the families of those killed in the flames or whose houses were damaged would “receive recompense” and that the Algerian government would deploy “all human and material means” to put a stop to them.
Major wildfires in Algeria this year claimed the lives of 104 people, including 33 troops.
Algerian authorities chartered a firefighting plane from Russia for three months at the middle of June.
This summer, record-breaking heat waves and dry conditions extended over most of southern Europe and North Africa, igniting a flurry of wildfires. In many European countries, this week has delivered a sharp decrease in temperatures and some much-needed rain, but in some places it fell so quickly and heavily that flash floods became an issue.
Experts predict that things will only become worse as a result of human-induced climate change, which is to blame for the pattern of more severe heat waves and droughts.