Patna, Apr 6 (IANS): A woman has given birth to conjoined twin boys in Bihar's Purnia district.

The newborns, though have separate body parts, are joined at the stomach. They were born in Lalganj Milki village under Maranga police station in the district on Wednesday.

According to Dr Prem Prakash, in charge of Purnia medical college and hospital, the babies weighed 4.5 kg at the time of the birth and are healthy but their stomachs are connected. "In the absence of surgical facilities in the hospital, we have referred the babies to higher centers like Patna AIIMS or Delhi AIIMS," he said.

"It is a rare case in medical science. In some cases, the babies are connected with heads, shoulders and stomach," he said.

Marukh Hussain, maternal grandfather of babies said: "We have requested the hospital administration for a few days so that we would make arrangements to take them to higher centres. The hospital has given us two days' time on humanitarian ground. Since their mother is a daily wage labourer and the father an auto driver, it is extremely hard to afford the treatment. The doctors have said that the operation in such cases is very expensive."

"I appeal to the state government to provide treatment to the child on humanitarian grounds and save their lives," Hussain said.