Romanian Nurse Charged With Murder In Maternity Hospital Fire

Cirstea will remain in police custody for 24 hours and appear before a judge Tuesday, said Marius Iacob, chief prosecutor in charge of the investigation. Prosecutors will ask the judge to place her under arrest so she can be held for the next 29 days.

Cirstea is accused of failing to fulfill duties of her job by not constantly supervising the newborns in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Authorities said five babies died after suffering severe burns in the fire on August 16 and six other newborns were injured. They remained in critical but stable condition Monday, according to staffers at Grigore Alexandru Children's Hospital, where they are being treated. Cirstea is also charged in connection with the injured infants.

Iacob said she left the unit unattended for 12 minutes and then was unable to evacuate and rescue the newborns after the fire broke out. Cirstea also left the intensive care unit several other times during that day, according to surveillance video, he said.

Iacob said last week that medical staff at the hospital were in another room, apparently having a celebration, when the blaze broke out.

The fire started in an electrical cable attached to the air-conditioning unit of the intensive care room, according to prosecutors' preliminary conclusions. It quickly swept through the room, burning incubators and melting medical equipment.

Surveillance camera footage released by the government last week showed medical staff and parents frantically trying to enter the burning intensive care unit, using a chair to break down automatic doors. The doors could only be opened with an access card, which no one had at the time. Seconds later, the hallway filled with smoke.

Iacob said last week that only one person had an access card to open the door, namely, the nurse in charge, who was not present.

Hospital staffers on Monday said it was too soon to evaluate the survival chances of the six injured babies. However, officials said minor burns suffered by some of the infants have healed.

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