News - Local
21 Babies Wash Ashore in Eastern China
Posted: Mar 30, 2010 12:44 PM by Letitia Walker
BEIJING (AP) - The bodies of 21 babies washed ashore on a
riverbank in eastern China and two hospital mortuary workers were
detained for allegedly dumping them, state media reported Tuesday.
Video footage showed the bodies - at least one of which stuffed
in a yellow plastic bag marked "medical waste" - included some
infants who appeared several months old. Some wore identification
tags with their mothers' names, birth dates, measurements and
weights.
The official Xinhua News Agency said there were also fetuses
among the bodies. The number of girls or boys was not reported.
Residents discovered the remains under a bridge in the city of
Jining, Shandong province, over the weekend. The tags on the ankles
of eight of the babies helped investigators trace them back to
Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Xinhua said.
An official from the hospital confirmed it was involved.
Hospital mortuary workers Zhu Zhenyu and Wang Zhijun were sacked
and detained by police, Xinhua reported early Wednesday, citing
Jining city government spokesman Gong Zhenhua.
The babies' families had paid the pair to dispose of the bodies,
but instead they dumped them at the Guangfu River, Gong said.
Three other top hospital officials were fired or suspended,
Xinhua said.
Gong said the 21 bodies had been cremated, though it was not
clear whether authorities were able to identify all of them.
Interviews with residents who discovered the bodies floating
near the shore were broadcast on the Shandong Broadcasting Company
Web site.
Footage shows bodies lying on parts of the riverbank. Some are
uncovered, and others are in bags. They are all small and covered
in dirt. A leg sticks out from under one bag, and at least one has
"medical waste" written on it.
One of the bluish-green identification tags visible in the video
indicates the baby was born in April 2009.
An official from the information office of China's Health
Ministry said she was not aware of the case, while telephone calls
to the Jining Health Bureau and the Shandong Health Bureau rang
unanswered Tuesday.
KATC.com is Social!
KATC Videos
Comments