11 newborns killed as fire tears through hospital in Senegal

Kaba, a mother of a 10-day-old baby, is comforted by her mother Ndeye Absa Gueye as she walks out of a hospital in Tivaouane, Senegal, where 11 newborn babies died in a fire in the neonatal section, May 26, 2022. ZOHRA BENSEMRA/REUTERS

Dakar, Senegal — A fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Senegal has killed 11 newborns, President Macky Sall said. Only three infants could be saved.

"To their mothers and families, I express my deepest sympathy," Sall tweeted late Wednesday.

The fire was blamed on an electrical short circuit at the Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in Tivaouane, a town 75 miles northeast of the capital, Dakar, Mayor Demba Diop said.

The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Linguere, in northern Senegal.

A series of other deaths also have raised concerns about maternal and infant health in the West African nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.

Kaba, the mother of a 10-day-old baby, reacts outside a hospital in Tivaouane, Senegal, where 11 newborn babies died in a fire in the neonatal section, May 26, 2022. ZOHRA BENSEMRA/REUTERS

Earlier this month, authorities discovered a baby that had been declared dead by a nurse's aide was still alive in a morgue. The infant later died.

Last year a pregnant woman died in Louga, in the north of the country, after waiting in vain for a cesarean section. Three midwives were given six-month suspended sentences for not giving help to a person in danger.

Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, who was attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, cut short his trip to return to Senegal.