Senegal arrests three over babies’ deaths in hospital blaze

Senegalese police have made their first arrests in connection with a hospital fire in which 11 babies died, According to trade union sources on Monday.

Last week, a fire broke out in a neonatal ward in the western town of Tivaouane.

Even before the 11 tiny bodies were buried, President Macky Sall fired his health minister, Diouf Sarr.

The three people arrested in connection with the case were a midwife, a nurse, and the head of the hospital’s human resources department, a health workers’ union official told AFP.

They were being questioned over “endangering the lives of others”, official Ousmane Diouf said.

The two medical professionals were arrested on Sunday.

Read more; Eleven newborn babies dies in Senegal hospital fire

The cause of the fire at the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital has not been established although an electrical short-circuit has been cited as a possible source.

Witnesses reported that the blaze spread rapidly in the neonatal unit and that staff and patients were unable to save the children.

Bereaved relatives have complained of a lack of supervision in the ward.

Local mayor Demba Diop has denied allegations from relatives and across social media that the babies had been left alone, saying a midwife and nurse were present when the fire broke out in the evening of May 25.

The mayor said the air-conditioning had fanned the flames. The two nurses fainted but were revived, he added.

“There was no negligence,” he insisted.

The tragedy was the latest in a string of fatalities that have exposed flaws in Senegal’s healthcare system.

Four newborns died in a hospital fire in the northern town of Linguere in April 2021.