Newborn Found Inside Plastic Bag In Airport Toilet Dies, Investigation Underway

A newborn baby was found inside a plastic bag by a cleaner in a women's toilet at Hong Kong International Airport. The baby was rushed to a hospital where it was pronounced dead Friday.

The gender of the baby remains unknown and police are trying to determine the circumstances leading up to the child's death. A criminal investigation has been launched by local police, a representative for the Airport Authority Hong Kong told Channel NewsAsia. The spokesperson also said the toilet was near Gate 60 of the airport's arrivals level.

There have been several recent incidents in the past where newborn babies were left to die.

Last month, a newborn baby's body was found abandoned with toilet paper in its mouth inside the bathroom of an AirAsia India flight in New Delhi, India. Authorities believe the baby was born during the flight and are investigating if the baby was stillborn, Indian media reports said. The baby's mother, 19, was detained after all the women aboard the flight were questioned.

In another horrific incident that took place in April, a 2-day-old baby girl was flushed down the toilet at a doctor's clinic in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The body of the newborn was found after plumbers were called to help with the clogged toilet.

"There wasn't much of a foul smell emanating from the toilet. The body hadn't decomposed when we recovered it. But the baby's placenta was intact and there was blood inside the commode," police told local media the News Minute at the time. "Seeing the color of the blood, the domestic worker mistook it for muddy water. The house is located in a large plot and there are many houses nearby. The doctor's house is situated around 100 meters away from the road. We are investigating all possibilities."