A fire burning at an orphanage in a suburb of the Algerian capital has killed at least 11 people and injured 19, the country's civil defence said Thursday.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Thursday that "several children" were among 11 people killed in a fire that broke out during the night at an orphanage in Algiers.

Tebboune, who is on a visit to Germany, offered his condolences after "learning the news of the death of several children... following a fire that broke out in a childcare facility", according to the official APS news agency.

The civil defence said it was "continuing efforts to put out the fire" in the Mohammadia district of Algiers, with the cause of the blaze unknown.

"The provisional toll is 11 dead," it said, without specifying the age of the victims.

National television showed Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb visiting the wounded in hospital.

Algeria has been sweltering under a heatwave for several days, and nearly 1,000 fires have been recorded in the space of a week.