The father of a newborn baby who died after allegedly being dropped by an unsupervised six-year-old boy at a French hospital has condemned the institution for failing to supervise the child. Zayneb-Cassandra was born prematurely at seven and a half months at Jeanne-de-Flandre Children's Hospital in Lille, but died from a severe brain injury just a week later.
The boy, the son of another mother on the ward, had reportedly been seen wandering into other rooms and disrupting patients before the incident last Friday. He was found alone with the unconscious baby in the neonatal unit. A criminal investigation is now underway, and the hospital has also launched an internal administrative inquiry.
The baby's father, Mohamed-Hamza, 23, said he broke down in tears when his wife Sephora called to say their daughter had been dropped on the floor. He told French media that while he does not blame the boy's mother, the child should have been supervised. "Every six-year-old is a little disruptive. I don't blame the mother. She had just given birth... But the child should have been supervised," he said.
The family said they have not received an apology from the hospital and accused staff of showing a "lack of empathy". The baby's grandmother, Fatma, said: "My family is destroyed. My daughter is devastated. Coming home without her baby is inconceivable." The hospital declined to comment on the allegations but said staff and other families have been deeply affected by the tragedy.
