Eleven newborn babies have died as a result of a fire outbreak in the neonatal section of a Senegalese hospital. 

On Wednesday, President Macky Sall announced the death toll after a fire at a regional hospital in the town of Tivaouane, around the capital Dakar.

“I have just learned with pain and consternation the death of 11 newborn babies in the fire that occurred in the neonatology department of the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh hospital in Tivaouane,” Mr Sall said in a tweet.  “To their mothers and their families, I express my deepest sympathy.” 

Senegal’s health minister, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, disclosed to Senegalese television TFM that a  short circuit triggered the fire.

Mr Sarr, currently in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, indicated that his trip would be cut short and he would return to Senegal immediately.

Mr Sall has declared a three-day period of national mourning from Thursday and asked that flags fly at half mast during this period. He has also launched an investigation to find out the cause of the fire, according to the country’s interior minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome. 

“Beyond that, he (Sall) asked that we review all the equipment and infrastructure dedicated to newborns who need assistance with machines for their care,” Mr Diome said.