Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital said in a statement the loss had been discovered during a routine check last Friday but, despite an 'extensive search", the baby's body had not been found.

The loss was reported to the city's hospital authority and police on Monday.

A report in the South China Morning Post said the family of the dead baby had been informed only on Tuesday.

'The hospital has arranged to meet the family of the baby to explain the incident and extend an apology,' a spokesman for the hospital said in a statement released on Tuesday.

'The hospital is very concerned about the incident and will co-operate with and assist the police in the investigation,' the spokesman added.

The Post reported that the baby died on Dec 15 soon after being born prematurely, at 35 weeks.

The body had been stored in an extra-large container at the hospital's mortuary along with the corpse of an obese man, which had been released for cremation on Dec 19, the report said.

Hospital chief executive Loretta Yam said storing bodies together was not normal practice but, according to a report in The Standard newspaper, ruled out the possibility that the baby's remains had been cremated with the man's.

The worker who handled the bodies had been suspended and a supervisor reprimanded, The Standard added.

Health Secretary York Chow said Wednesday the priority was for authorities to find the body.

'I have to say that I am very much disappointed and in a way very sad about the whole situation,' he told reporters, adding the system for monitoring dead bodies was 'better than any in the world'.

Mr Chow said the family would be offered counselling and legal advice over the incident. -- AFP