[Anchor Lead]
The families of the four dead infants said their baby’s stomachs were bloated before they died – and the National Forensic Service confirmed this in its autopsy Monday. Still, it’s expected to take at least a month for the investigation to determine the cause of death.
[Pkg]
The bodies of the four newborns are transferred into an ambulance. They are headed to the Seoul office of the National Forensic Service for an autopsy. The autopsy continued for some six hours from 12:20 p.m., conducted by five forensic experts. Initial results show a common feature in all the babies, traces of stomach inflation.
[Soundbite] Lee Han-yeong(Nat'l Forensic Service) : "Among the organs, parts of the small and large intestines were slightly swollen."
But experts say getting to the reason why the gas expansion took place needs further examination. The National Forensic Service said it can't identify a cause of death just by observing the bodies.
[Soundbite] Lee Han-yeong(NFS) : "We will conduct biopsies and other tests to verify whether there was intestinal inflammation."
Before the autopsy, the NFS reviewed medical records and confirmed that all of the newborns were receiving intravenous nutritional feeding treatment and only one of them had underwent artificial respiration treatment. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency which is investigating the case has said that mechanical defects including the incubators and possible infection of hospital rooms are all under investigation. First, eleven medical staff members will be questioned including three professor-level doctors, two resident physicians and five nurses. Medical records preserved at the site and the incubators will also be seized for examination. It's expected to take about a month for the NFS to announce its final autopsy results that will point to the cause of death.
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