infant
A premature newborn baby girl is seen lying inside an incubator at a hospital in Chongqing municipality, November 17, 2014. The baby was still in critical condition after birth. [Representational Image]Reuters

Sixteen infants have died in the past six days at the government-run BC Roy Memorial Hospital in Kolkata.

Out of these, three died in the last 24 hours alone, PTI quoted Tridib Banerjee, chairman of the state health department's special task force on child healthcare as saying. 

He said that the chances of saving infants in such cases are often negligible, since they are brought to the hospital in critical condition. 

It may be recalled that in June and July last year, 33 infants died in the Malda Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal.

The deaths were attributed by doctors to to low birth weight, malnutrition and respiratory problems, reports NDTV.