- The girl was born on an overcrowded migrant dinghy headed for the Spanish island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
- Medical and state authorities said the baby and her mother are in good condition. The couple will be admitted to a humanitarian center for migrants before they are likely to be transferred to a reception center for mothers and children on another island, a spokesman for the Spanish government in the Canary Islands said.
- According to the Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, 9,757 people died on the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands in 2024. The route can be particularly dangerous for women.
The girl, who was born on a crowded migrant dinghy headed towards The Spanish island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, she was treated in hospital along with her mother and both were in good condition, medical and regional authorities said on Thursday.
The couple was treated with antibiotics and monitored by the pediatric team, Dr. Maria Sabalich, Emergency Coordinator of the Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote.
“Mother and child are safe,” she said. – They are still in the hospital, but they are fine.
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The Spanish coastguard said the ship carrying the pregnant mother had boarded from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles southeast of Lanzarote.
After being released from hospital, the mother and child will be admitted to a humanitarian center for migrants, before likely being moved to a reception center for mothers and young children on another island, Cristina Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the Spanish government in the Canarian capital. , Las Palmas, Reuters said.
The latest arrivals add thousands of migrants leaving for the Canarians from the west coast of Africa each year on a dangerous sea journey that claims thousands of lives.
Migrants arrive in a small boat at the port of La Restinga on El Hierro island in the Canary Islands on February 4, 2024. Spanish migration charity Walking Borders said 9,757 people died on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. (Europa Press via AP)
Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was simple, Domingo Trujillo, the captain of the Spanish coast guard ship that rescued the migrants – 60 people in total including 14 women and four children – told Spanish television EFE.
– The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and that there were no problems, so we asked the woman for permission to take it off and clean it – he said. “The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her companions. The only thing we did was to examine the child, give it to the mother, and wrap them up for the journey.”
During the night, the rescue services of the Canary Islands pulled out two more boats with a total of 144 people.
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According to the Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, 9,757 people have died Atlantic route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. The route from Morocco and Western Sahara is most often used by women who routinely suffer sexual violence, discrimination, racism and deportation during transit.
Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.
“Almost every night we leave at dawn and come back late,” he said. “This case is very positive, because it was with a newborn, but in all the services we do, even if we are tired, we know that we are helping people in need.”
