Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago are investigating after 56 bodies, mostly infants, were discovered abandoned in a cemetery in Cumuto.

The remains include 50 babies and six adults, with officials suspecting possible unlawful disposal of unclaimed corpses.

Some of the adult bodies had morgue identification tags and signs of autopsies, prompting a forensic inquiry.

Police have secured the site and deployed specialist units to determine the origin of the remains and whether laws were broken, Al-Jazeera has reported.

The discovery has shocked the country, which is already dealing with rising crime and a prolonged state of emergency.