Babies’ bodies with umbilical cords found in bottles during house renovation

Termite exterminators working on a house renovation have uncovered the bodies of several babies preserved in bottles, some with umbilical cords still attached, Kyodo news agency said on Monday.

Three or four such bottles were found beneath the floor of a house abandoned for the past three years in the Japanese capital, where an obstetrician had once lived and which was being renovated by a recent purchaser, Kyodo added.

Reuters in a report attributed to Kyodo said: “The bodies appeared to have been preserved in a substance resembling formalin.”

It added that police were investigating further but said the police declined to confirm the report.