Burdwan, West Bengal:
Close on the heels of the death of 13 babies in a government hospital in Kolkata, 12 newborns have died in the Burdwan Medical College and hospital here.
The deaths have taken place since Thursday, hospital deputy superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said today.
"The one-to-three days old babies were heavily underweight and suffering from jaundice, encephalitis and septicemia", Ghosh said.
No complaint was lodged against the hospital for the deaths by any patient party, Ghosh said, adding doctors did their best to save the lives of the babies.
The hospital, he said, was overcrowded as 160 infants were currently being treated in 60 beds. They needed more nursing staff and modern equipment, he said.
Thirteen babies have died in the B C Roy Children Hospital in Kolkata since October 25.
The deaths have raised questions on the medical care at West Bengal's largest referral hospital for children, following accusations of negligence by parents. However, hospital authorities have maintained there is "nothing abnormal" or "unusual" in the deaths because the babies were brought in an "extremely critical" condition.
The state government gave a clean chit to the hospital holding there was no medical negligence or any lapse on the part of hospital authorities.