A screengrab from footage from Algeria's Ennnahar TV shows people standing outside the hospital following the fire.

A screengrab from footage from Algeria's Ennnahar TV shows people standing outside the hospital following the fire.

A screengrab from footage from Algeria's Ennnahar TV shows people standing outside the hospital following the fire.

Eight newborn babies were killed Tuesday when a fire ripped through the maternity wing of a hospital in Algeria — a blaze that may have been sparked by a faulty anti-mosquito device, authorities said.

Dozens of firetrucks tackled the 4 a.m. blaze at the hospital in El Oued, managing to safely rescue 11 babies along with 107 mothers and 28 employees, the national emergency service told AFP.

“Unfortunately we regret the deaths of eight babies, some from burns and others from smoke inhalation,” the service’s spokesman, Captain Nassim Bernaoui, told the agency.

Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui has ordered an “urgent” investigation and the country’s health minister visited the scene to investigate further, according to the BBC.

The health minister has said they are investigating whether a defective anti-mosquito machine may have caused the deadly blaze.

It is the second recent fire in the same maternity unit, with flames last May causing damage but no casualties, according to AFP.

With Post wires