The summer season continues to be marked by a surge in road traffic accidents and drownings, heavily mobilizing Civil Protection services. In the span of 24 hours, twelve people lost their lives across the country, including nine in traffic collisions and three by drowning, according to the latest report released Wednesday by the General Directorate of Civil Protection. Rescue teams were also heavily called upon to combat urban blazes and wildfires amid soaring seasonal temperatures.
In total, Civil Protection units carried out 4,796 interventions between July 14 and July 15 at 8:00 AM, translating to an emergency response every 18 seconds. This toll includes 2,280 medical evacuations and 806 miscellaneous operations linked to road accidents, domestic mishaps, fires, and various security measures deployed during this peak period.
Road traffic accidents remain the deadliest hazard. Emergency teams responded to 200 separate accidents, treating 278 injured individuals who were evacuated to local medical centers, while nine people died at the scene. The heaviest casualty toll was recorded in the Tamanrasset province, where a head-on collision between two passenger buses on National Highway 1 left five people dead and eighteen others injured.
With crowds flocking to coastal beaches, lifeguards have been deployed around the clock. The coastal surveillance network recorded 864 interventions, successfully rescuing 589 people from imminent drowning. First responders also administered medical care to 230 individuals and evacuated 41 others to regional healthcare facilities.
Despite these extensive efforts, three people drowned at sea. Two of these drownings occurred in the Algiers province, including a 17-year-old youth at the prohibited El Mahedjar beach, and a 30-year-old man at Sidi Fredj. A third victim, aged 60, drowned at Aftis beach in the Jijel province, which is also strictly closed to swimming.
Civil Protection teams also intervened to control three urban fires in the provinces of Oum El Bouaghi, Ain Temouchent, and Annaba. These incidents left nine people injured, suffering from smoke inhalation or burns, all of whom received emergency care before being transferred to hospital. The rapid response of the firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to adjacent residential properties.
Furthermore, specialized firefighting crews battled 139 vegetation fires, including 29 forest fires, 7 scrub fires, 24 brush fires, 31 crop fires, 15 orchard blazes, 27 burning haystacks, and 6 fires in palm groves across several provinces. Here too, prompt action succeeded in containing the flames and preventing wider destruction.
This grim toll highlights the elevated dangers of the summer season, a period when travel, swimming, and wildfire hazards peak simultaneously. In light of these events, the Civil Protection agency has renewed its urgent appeal for public safety, urging drivers to strictly respect traffic laws, beachgoers to swim only at supervised beaches and avoid restricted zones, and citizens to practice fire-preventative habits.