Hanoi  - Three bodies discovered this week by a sanitation worker in a Hanoi dumpster belonged to foetuses, not newborns as previously reported, the worker said Wednesday.

"The foetuses were the results of abortions," Nguyen Thi Hop said. "The women might have been pregnant for five or six months."

Initial press reports from Monday, based on interviews with Hop's supervisor Nguyen Thi Hien, incorrectly stated the bodies belonged to infants, including two newborns and a 5-month-old.

It was not clear whether police statements that other bodies had been found in dumpsters in the area referred to infants or foetuses. The neighborhood is home to several hospitals, and Vietnam has one of the world's highest rates of abortion. (dpa)