German baby abandoned in suitcase

German police are searching for the mother of a day-old girl who was dressed neatly in a sweater, wrapped in a sleeping bag and then zipped into a suitcase and left near a hotel.

Hamburg police said on Wednesday they have launched a search for the mother. The baby was being cared for at a nearby hospital. Police say she is healthy.

Police said a passer-by alerted the porter of a hotel near Hamburg’s congress centre to the unattended luggage on Tuesday. Hotel security workers partially opened the small, black suitcase, but only saw clothes. They stored it in the hotel’s luggage room.

Later on Tuesday a hotel porter heard whimpering coming from the suitcase. He opened it, found the baby and alerted police.