Eleven babies have been killed in a fire at a hospital in the Senegalese town of Tivaouane. This year, the West African country has already seen several tragedies in hospitals.
News of the newborns’ deaths was announced “with great sadness and devastation” by President Macky Sall shortly before midnight on Wednesday. He offered his condolences to the affected mothers and other relatives.
The drama prompted health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr to immediately leave a World Health Organization conference in Geneva and return to Senegal.
In the fire, which according to the first reports would have started due to a short circuit in the neonatology department, three babies could be rescued from the blaze, according to mayor Demba Diop of Tivaouane. Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital was recently opened.
This year several tragedies
In the northern town of Linguere, four babies were also killed in a fire in April, possibly due to a short circuit in the air conditioning. In the same month, a woman who had been waiting in vain for a cesarean section died. Three medics involved were sentenced two weeks ago to suspended prison terms for negligence.
The director of Amnesty International in Senegal, Seydi Gassama, has called for an independent investigation following the incidents. That “to punish the guilty, whatever their position”.
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