Eleven babies have died in a hospital fire in the western city of Tivaouane, Senegal, according to the country’s president, Macky Sall.
Key points:
- Police and firefighters remain in hospital
- A short circuit is believed to have caused the fire
- The country’s president has expressed his “deepest condolences” to mothers and their families
Sall said the fire broke out on Wednesday in the neonatal section of Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in Tivaouane, a city about 120 kilometers from the capital Dakar.
“I just learned with pain and dismay of the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire in the neonatology department of Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital,” Sall said in an untweeted tweet. more details about the fire.
“I offer my deepest condolences to his mothers and families,” said Sall, who is on a state visit to Angola.
Senegalese Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told Senegalese private television channel TFM: “According to [a] preliminary investigation, a short circuit triggered the fire “.
Sarr, who is in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, said he would shorten the trip and return to Senegal immediately.
Demba Diop Sy, the mayor of Tivaouane, one of Senegal’s holy cities and a transportation hub, said police and firefighters were still in the hospital, but did not give further details.
Reuters