Hospital worker suspected of murdering 8 babies

LONDON — British police say a health care worker has been arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and trying to kill another six at a hospital neonatal unit in northwest England. Detectives have been investigating baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester for more than a year.

Cheshire Constabulary said officers arrested a female “health care professional” Tuesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The force did not identify the woman or give details of her job.

Police are investigating the deaths of 17 babies and 15 “non-fatal collapses” at the unit between March 2015 and June 2016.

CBS News partner network BBC News says the arrests came as part of “Operation Hummingbird,” which was initially launched to investigate fewer infant deaths at Countess of Chester Hospital, but expanded as investigators discovered more suspicious cases.

Parents of the babies who died are being kept fully informed as the investigation proceeds, but police have not revealed the circumstances of the infants’ deaths.