Incheon: A severed human leg discovered at a public recycling facility in Incheon last week was mistakenly discarded by a hospital volunteer worker, police reported on Friday. The Incheon Yeonsu Police Station has been investigating the origin of the body part, which was found during a sorting process at the recycling center in the city west of Seoul on June 10.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the leg belonged to a patient in their 80s at a nursing hospital in the city, who had undergone an amputation surgery two days prior. The leg was wrapped in a bandage and placed in a container for medical waste. However, the volunteer worker mistook it for a cast and discarded it as recyclable waste.

The investigation gained momentum after the hospital reported its likely involvement to the police. This was facilitated by the head of the nursing department, who recognized the situation after seeing a news report on the discovery on Wednesday.

Police collected a DNA sample from the patient and sent it to the National Forensic Service, which confirmed that the limb belonged to him. Authorities are currently looking into potential violations of medical law related to the hospital's disposal and management of medical waste.