Coastguards in the Canary Islands rescued a mother who had given birth to a baby while making the crossing over the Atlantic Ocean in a migrant boat.
The rescue team on the coastguard ship Talía shared a number of photos on social media of the moment they came to the aid of the newborn on Monday. Photos showed passengers of the packed dinghy trying to make space for the mother and her baby boy.
The Talía towed the rubber boat after it was first spotted off the island of Lanzarote. It carried approximately 60 people, including 14 women and four children
On social media, the crew said: “Christmas ends in the Canaries with the rescue of a baby born in the middle of a sea journey.”
The mother and baby were transferred to Arrecife, the capital city of Lanzarote, after medics onboard recommended they were taken to a hospital.
This wasn’t the first time that the captain of the Talía, Domingo Trujillo, rescued a newborn baby. In 2020, then-skipper of the Salvamar Mizar, he helped rescue the occupants of a boat where a woman had also just given birth.
“We would like to take this opportunity to express our admiration for Domingo and the rest of the crew who give their best every day to assist thousands of people trying to reach the Canary Islands”, the post continued.
Mr Trujillo told TVE that they already knew there was a pregnant woman on board. “The surprise was (that we found) a totally naked baby who was born 10, 13, or 20 minutes earlier,” he said, as he recalled finding the new mother on lying on the floor of the crowded boat while the baby was being held by someone nearby.
“I covered him up, took him here (to my chest) and patted him so that he would stop crying,” he said.
The baby was born on 6 January, also known as Three Kings’ Day, an Epiphany holiday celebrated in many Spanish communities where children traditionally receive presents from the Three Kings.
