Turkey earthquake: Police detain man who tried to 'steal' baby from hospital
Turkish police have detained a man who tried to steal a baby from a hospital in southern Turkey in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that have hit the region, state media reported on Wednesday.
The man came into the hospital pretending to be a police chief in the Samandag district of the quake-affected province of Hatay, the Anadolu news agency reported.
The hospital staff realised his police ID card was fake and called the real police.
When officers detained the man, they found fake police and military ID cards, gold, and Turkish lira, dollars, and euros together worth around $6,500, Anadolu said.
The agency did not provide any information about the baby. Some parents in the region have told AFP that they have been alarmed by rumours of child kidnappings.
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Derya Yanik, Turkey's family minister, said on Monday that at least 1,362 children had been separated from their families by the quake.
The two earthquakes hit on 6 February, affecting large parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria.
So far, 42,000 people have died, but this number is expected to rise far higher.
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