HATAY, Turkey – Turkish police have detained a man trying to steal a baby from a hospital in southern Turkey, state media reported, following the catastrophic earthquake that hit the region.

A 7.8-magnitude quake unleashed chaos in southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria, killing over 40,000 people and displacing millions in both countries.

According to the Anadolu state news agency on Wednesday, a man walked into a hospital pretending to be a police chief in the Samandag district of the quake-affected province of Hatay.

The hospital staff realised his police ID card was fake and called the real police, the report added.

When officers detained the man, they found fake police and military ID cards, gold and money in Turkish lira, dollars and euros worth around US$6,500 (S$8,700), Anadolu said.

The agency did not provide information about the baby.

Some parents in the region have expressed alarm over rumoured child kidnappings.

Turkish Family Minister Derya Yanik on Monday said at least 1,362 children had been separated from their families by the quake. AFP