By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
A baby was born inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the Spanish Canary Island of Lanzarote.
In a photo that captured the moment those on the dinghy were rescued, the newborn lay in her mother’s lap while she rested.
The boat was spotted off the island of Lanzarote on Monday as Spain marked the Epiphany holiday, also known as Three Kings Day, meant to honor the day the three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, rescuers said.
“Christmas ends in the Canary Islands with the rescue of a baby born in the middle of a voyage on the sea,” Salvamento Marítimo, the Spanish government’s maritime rescue agency, said Wednesday on X.
The agency said rescue crews were able to safely rescue those on the dinghy, with the mother and her newborn child airlifted to the eastern Lanzarote city of Arrecife. Local media reported that they were taken to a hospital nearby.
Domingo Trujillo, captain of the agency’s rescue vessel, said rescuers had been aware that a pregnant woman was on the dinghy.
“The surprise was … a totally naked baby who was born 10, 15 or 20 minutes earlier,” he said, adding that he covered the baby up and patted the baby so it would stop crying.
Alvaro Serrano Perez, commander of the helicopter, told our source, NBC News, “Being Three Kings Day, this was the best gift we could have received.”
In a statement, the agency said:
“We take this opportunity to express our admiration for Domingo and the rest of the crew who every day give their best to assist thousands of people trying to reach the Canary Islands.”
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