Conjoined Madagascar twins die after operation

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - A pair of six-month-old conjoined twins who were connected at the stomach, sternum and liver have died in Madagascar two days after a marathon surgery to separate them, their doctor said Friday.

"We did everything we could, but unfortunately there were constraints beyond our control," said Mamy Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, chief of paediatric surgery at the hospital that conducted the operation.

They died of cardio-pulmonary failure 48 hours after their separation, he said.

"Our equipment was inadequate for dealing with unforeseen circumstances," he added.

The bodies have been returned to their village of Talata Vohimena, in the country's south.

Conjoined twins are an extremely rare phenomenon -- with an estimated one for every 200,000 births.

However, in some areas of Madagascar, the number of conjoined twins is higher, and the country has seen three declared cases since 2010.

Some Madagascans consider twins bad luck and parents have been known to kill or abandon one of the offspring.