Security officials in Senegal have arrested three persons in connection with a hospital fire incident in which 11 babies died, trade union sources said on Monday.
The fire broke out in a neonatal section in the western town of Tivaouane last week. This led to the sack of health minister, Diouf Sarr by President Macky Sall even before the 11 infants were buried.
The arrested persons were a midwife, a nurse and the head of the hospital’s human resources department, a health workers’ union official said.
Yesterday, two more medical professionals were arrested. Official Ousmane Diouf said they were being grilled for “endangering the lives of others”
The cause of the fire at the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital has not been established , however, an electrical short-circuit has been cited as a possible cause of the hospital fire incident.
Witnesses said the fire spread quickly 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.
The disaster was the recent in a series of fatal incidents underscoring the shortcomings in Senegal’s health services.