The bodies of six babies were found at the gates of a cemetery in the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, on Wednesday morning.
A resident of the area made the grim discovery uncovering one of the bodies after spotting a plastic bag. Police were called in and discovered five more small bodies.
The babies were Dominican and Haitian, according to pathologist Dr. Anyi Vicioso who was at the scene.
Pink and blue identification tags were attached to the babies’ feet and wrists, depending on their sex. Four were boys and two were girls.
The bodies were apparently abandoned at the cemetery by a funeral home that had been charged with their burial.
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In a statement, Ciudad Juan Bosch Hospital Director Marilelda Reyes said the remains had been delivered to a funeral home so the business could proceed with the burials.
However, authorities have not confirmed whether those bodies are the same as the ones found Wednesday near the cemetery.
Reyes said he was “surprised” when she heard the news on Wednesday mornin.
Speaking on why the bodies were sent directly to the funeral home from the hospital, he said: “For various reasons, some parents do not remove the bodies, especially when they have very limited financial resources, so the health center must pay for the burial service.”
The Dominican National Health Service (SNS) said that two of the babies were dead when they arrived at Ciudad Juan Bosch Hospital while one at 38 weeks and another at 40 weeks were transferred from another hospital with neonatal sepsis. They later died.
Two others were born prematurely at 24 and 25 weeks of gestation.
Police are investigating the horrifying incident which has shocked the residents of Santo Domingo.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.
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