Beijing, Sept. 17: A third child has died in China’s southeastern Zhejiang Province after consuming contaminated milk. The death toll till Tuesday was two, China's Ministry of Health said here on Wednesday.

Health Minister Chen Zhu told reporters on Wednesday morning that the first two deaths had occurred in northwest Gansu Province. They included a five-month-old boy who died on May 1 after his family refused further treatment and an eight-month-old girl whose family also refused an operation and removed her from hospital on July 22 on which day she died.

Both had suffered kidney failure.

Aside from the three deaths, a total of 6,244 infants have been found to have been affected by the milk powder tainted with melamine by 8 a. m. Wednesday. A hundred and fifty eight of them are suffering from acute kidney failure.

Close to five thousand infant patients are in stable condition or cured after medical treatment, while the rest of 1,327 patients still remain in hospitals as of Wednesday morning. (ANI)