Baby hatch tragedy in Bari: Fatal failure of safety system
In Bari, southern Italy, a deceased child was found in a "baby hatch" at a church. The alarm did not trigger. An investigation is underway to determine whether the child was alive when placed there.
On Thursday morning, the body of an infant was discovered in the "baby hatch" at St. John the Baptist Church in the southern Italian city of Bari. The discovery was made accidentally by Roberto Savarese, the owner of a local funeral home.
He was walking past the church, looked into the baby hatch, and was surprised to see something inside. "An infant was lying there. It was pale and motionless," Savarese reported to "Il Messaggero."
Deceased child in the baby hatch: investigation to determine time of death
The parish priest was in shock as he did not receive an alarm notification. The notification should have been sent to his phone after the child was placed in the baby hatch.
Additionally, the heating system also failed, which was supposed to provide warmth to the child. When the body was discovered, it was cold inside the hatch, as confirmed by "La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno".
An autopsy of the infant, who was most likely only a few weeks old, is planned for Friday. Pathologists will determine the cause and time of death.
The police will conduct a technical inspection of the baby hatch. Officers will check whether the door was properly closed, which could have been the reason for the lack of an alarm.
This is the third child left in this baby hatch in recent years. A boy was found there in 2020, and a girl three years prior to that.
