A medical team at a Madinah hospital erroneously left a needle inside the lung of a 15-month-old baby, local media reported.

Mohamed Al-Shalahi, acting health affairs director, has ordered an investigation into the case. “The inquiry committee will determine who is responsible for the negligence and refer them to forensic committees for penal action,” said one health affairs official.

The father of the child, who had been suffering from acute pneumonia, reported the needle in his son’s lung after he had undergone treatment at a Madinah hospital.

The baby was transferred to King Fahd Military Hospital in Jeddah, where the needle was successfully removed from his lung, a newspaper said.