Newborn found abandoned in plastic bag in Cinisello Balsamo near Milan, in serious condition
A woman walking her dog found a newborn, still attached to the placenta, in a bag on the side of the road on Monday afternoon. The baby was taken to Niguarda hospital in Milan in red code, and the circumstances of the abandonment are not yet clear.
The discovery
On Monday, 12 October, a woman walking her dog in Cinisello Balsamo, a municipality north of Milan, heard sounds coming from a bag left at the corner of via Monte Ortigara and via Pasubio. Reports differ on where the bag was. Il Fatto Quotidiano says the baby was inside a rubbish container (cassonetto), while Il Giornale, La Stampa, Fanpage and Il Messaggero describe a bag left on the ground or the pavement. Inside, the woman found a newborn wrapped in a cloth or blanket, with the placenta still attached. Fanpage and Il Fatto Quotidiano put the discovery at about 16:15, and Fanpage says the woman called the emergency number 112 around that time.
Emergency response
Police from the Cinisello Balsamo commissariato, known as the Volanti, arrived within minutes, according to Fanpage, and officers of the Squadra Mobile of Milan also attended the scene. Medical staff from Areu, the regional emergency service, took the baby to the emergency department of Niguarda hospital in Milan with maximum urgency. Articles agree the infant was classed as red code (codice rosso). La Stampa reports that the baby was admitted to neonatal intensive care at Niguarda.
The baby's condition
La Stampa and Fanpage both describe the newborn's condition as very serious. Article reports say the baby appeared seriously unwell immediately after rescuers attended to him, and the articles do not give any later medical update. The placenta still being attached leads investigators and reporters to assume that the birth took place only a few hours before the discovery, according to Fanpage and La Stampa. La Stampa describes the placenta as intact, which it says suggests the birth happened in precarious conditions shortly before the baby was left.
The investigation
Squadra Mobile officers carried out scientific surveys at the scene and started an investigation, according to La Stampa. Investigators are reviewing video surveillance cameras in the area and checking recent admissions at local health facilities to identify the mother or the person who put the bag on the street. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that the Cinisello Balsamo commissariato is also carrying out checks, alongside the Squadra Mobile, to reconstruct events and establish the circumstances of the abandonment.
Open questions
The articles do not say how long the baby had been in the bag, or who left it there. Nothing has been reported about the mother, and no suspect has been named. The baby's health beyond the description of very serious is not explained in the reports. Further updates from investigators and the hospital are expected as the inquiry continues.
