Man detained for attempting to kidnap baby in Turkey’s quake-stricken Hatay

Turkish police have detained a man trying to kidnap a baby from a hospital in southern Turkey, state media reported, following the catastrophic earthquake that hit the region.

A 7.8-magnitude quake unleashed chaos in southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria, killing nearly 40,000 people and displacing millions in both countries.

A man walked into a hospital pretending to be a police chief in the Samandag district of the quake-affected province of Hatay, the Anadolu state news agency said Wednesday.

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The hospital staff realized his police ID card was fake and called the real police, it added.

When officers detained the man, they found fake police and military ID cards, gold and money in Turkish lira, dollars and euros worth around $6,500, Anadolu said.

The agency did not provide information about the baby.

Some parents in the region have expressed alarm to AFP over rumored child kidnappings.

Turkish Family Minister Derya Yanik on Monday said at least 1,362 children had been separated from their families by the quake.

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