The body of the wrong baby was released for burial from the mortuary at Mater Dei Hospital, the Health Ministry revealed on Friday.

In a short statement, the ministry said it had initiated an independent inquiry but did not say whether the error was noticed before the premature baby was actually buried.

It found out about the incident via an "internal process".

The employee involved in this incident has been suspended pending the result of the inquiry and the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings.

Sources said the mistake was found out after the baby was released for funeral. The case, which was discovered on Thursday, involved two premature dead babies. 

It is the second such incident in just over a year.

In June 2017, a mix-up at the mortuary led to the burial of the wrong body, with relatives making the shocking discovery when the corpse of their loved one was nowhere to be found.