Paris (France) - A race against time: a premature baby has been kidnapped from a French hospital. Baby Santiago urgently needs intensive medical care and may only have hours to live without it. The trail leads to the parents.

The little boy was born three months prematurely, requires round-the-clock medical care and is dependent on an incubator.

After baby Santiago disappeared from the infant ward of the Robert Ballanger Hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Greater Paris) on Monday evening, there is huge concern that the premature baby will be found in time, reported BFM TV.

In the meantime, the authorities have issued an "abduction alert" and are searching for the missing baby with a large contingent. The investigation is focusing in particular on the parents of the 17-day-old boy. According to the police, they are a 25-year-old woman and her 23-year-old partner. They are said to be "known" to the judiciary, according to investigators.

Five people close to the parents, aged between 16 and 29, have so far been taken into custody and questioned. They are accused of organized gang kidnapping.

However, there is no trace of the fugitives. If Santiago is not found within twelve hours, the baby's life is in acute danger.

According to all that is known, Santiago disappeared from his incubator at the Robert Ballanger Hospital between 11pm and 11.30pm on Monday evening.

Images from several surveillance cameras show the mother, dressed in a light blue sleeveless jacket, white sweater and green skirt, leaving the hospital with a black shopping bag in her hand. The 25-year-old woman was accompanied by the 23-year-old father of the child, who was dressed in dark jeans and a light blue denim jacket.

Near the hospital, the two men then got into a white vehicle in which there were three other people. They then lost track of them.

Investigators now believe that Santiago's parents may have taken their baby to Belgium. The search continues.