Eleven babies die in Senegal hospital blaze

Eleven newborn babies died in a hospital fire blamed on an electrical short circuit in Senegal's western city of Tivaouane, authorities said Thursday.

In the latest in a series of hospital deaths that have exposed the weaknesses of the nation's healthcare system, President Macky Sall announced the tragedy on Twitter and  declared three days of national mourning.

"I have just learned with pain and dismay about the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire at the neonatal department of the public hospital," Sall wrote after the fire late Wednesday.

"To their mothers and their families, I express my deepest sympathy," he tweeted.

Macky would return early from abroad and visit the hospital on Saturday, his office said.

Her baby son was taken to the hospital 10 days ago and was baptised on Monday, Mohamed's 54-year-old father Alioune Diouf said.

The city's mayor Demba Diop said the fire had been caused by a short circuit and spread very quickly.

"There was a noise and an explosion that lasted three minutes at most," he said outside the hospital entrance.

"Five minutes later, the fire brigade arrived. People used fire extinguishers."

The mayor said the air-conditioning had accelerated the flames and added that the two nurses fainted but were revived.

"There was no negligence," Diop insisted.

Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr was quoted in media reports also as blaming an electrical fault.