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Eleven newborn babies died in a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital Senegalesereported the country’s president, Macky Sall. Three babies were saved.
“To their mothers and families I expressed my deepest condolences”Sall tweeted Wednesday night.
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The tragedy at Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital was blamed on a short circuit, said Demba Diop, mayor of the city of Tivaouane, 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the capital Dakar.
Interior Minister Antoine Diome announced that the authorities would open an investigation into the state of hospital facilities, as well as other medical care centers, Senegalese media reported.
The fire came a year after four other newborns died in a fire at a hospital in Linguere, northern Senegal.
Other deaths have raised concerns about maternal and child health in the West African nation, known for having some of the best hospitals in the region.
Authorities discovered this month that a baby who had been declared dead by a nursing assistant was still alive in the morgue. The baby later died.
Last year, a pregnant woman died in Louga, in the north of the country, after waiting in vain for a caesarean section. Three midwives received six-month suspended prison sentences for failing to help a person in distress.
Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, who was attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, brought forward his return to Senegal.
Source: Elcomercio
