Rescuers who found the migrant boat were surprised to find that instead of a pregnant woman onboard, as they had been informed, there was a new mother with her baby
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A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain. Reuters
A baby boy was born aboard a migrant boat headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, Spain’s rescue service said Wednesday (January 8), sharing a photograph of the newborn, his mother, and dozens of others on the overcrowded vessel.
The dinghy was first spotted off the island of Lanzarote on January 6, as Spain marked the Epiphany holiday. Rescuers found 60 people on board, including 14 women and four children. Both the mother and baby were in good health when the coastguard arrived.
Domingo Trujillo, captain of the rescue vessel, told TVE they had been informed of a pregnant woman onboard. However, they were surprised to discover the baby had been born just minutes before their arrival.
“The surprise was (that we found) a totally naked baby who was born 10, 15 or 20 minutes earlier,” Trujillo said. “I covered him up, took him here (to my chest) and patted him so that he would stop crying.”
Medics recommended transferring the mother and baby to a hospital by helicopter. Reuters cited helicopter commander Alvaro Serrano Perez as saying, “Being Three Kings Day this was the best gift we could have received.”
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