Three more babies die in Malda hospital to take toll to 10

Three more newborns died since last night at the Malda Sadar Hospital here and all of them were referred from hospitals located in rural areas.

Seven babies had died on Wednesday in the same hospital attached to the Malda Medical College.

Dr Debasish Bhattacharya, principal of the Malda Medical College, said the babies were born premature and underweight in some rural hospitals from where they were referred.

Most of the seven babies who died on Wednesday were from the villages of Malda, Jharkhand and Bangladesh, officials said.

Meanwhile, a two-member high-powered task force, headed by Dr Tridib Banerjee, visited the hospital and met officials of the health department.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Swapan Kumar Jhariat said health secretary Sanjay Mitra would visit the hospital on Friday.