Turkish authorities are looking into the deaths of 13 newborn babies in the space of 24 hours at a hospital in the western city of Izmir.
Officials, who confirmed the deaths, said they were "looking into" the situation at the hospital.
The babies were all reported to have been born prematurely. Turkish newspapers have suggested that a hospital infection may have also been a factor in their deaths.
The chief doctor at Tepecik hospital told Turkish newspapers that he suspected an infection could have been the cause.
"Under normal conditions, we lose five or six babies in three days and less than 20 in a month," Professor Gazi Yigitbasi said, in remarks quoted by the AFP news agency.
A TV news channel said a team of doctors would inspect the hospital and take samples from the unit where the babies died.
During July this year, 27 newborn babies died over 15 days at a state hospital in Turkey's capital, Ankara.
The Ankara hospital said the deaths were caused by hypertension, heart failure and complications at birth.
However, the unions blamed an infection linked to poor sanitary conditions.
September 2008
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