12 babies died in two days

After stating that there was no negligence on the part of the Kurnool Government Hospital for the sudden death of 12 infants in less than 48-hours, Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Ravindra Reddy on Saturday made a shocking u-turn, when he said that there was a marginal human error and laxity.

Admitting that there was an error on part of the hospital staff, Reddy said that he would get the laxity corrected.

"Disciplinary action against errant officials will be taken if they are found guilty. Decision will be taken after I get a report from the collector," he said.

Reddy's about turn came three days after four infants had died on Wednesday and eight on Thursday at the government-run hospital, located around 180 km south of Hyderabad.

The state government has sent a team led by Director of Medical Education Sampath Kumar to the hospital to hold a preliminary inquiry.

The inquiry prima facie established that there was no negligence or any other mistake on the part of the doctors or the hospital staff.

Meanwhile, the Collector of Kurnool District, Ram Shankar Naik, has said that more staff have been roped in to manage the situation.

Earlier, the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Sudarshan, said more staff has been put in place to meet demands of the patients