THIS is the incredible moment a baby was rescued from a crowded migrant dinghy just 30 minutes after being born onboard.
A total of 60 people were on board the vessel spotted just off Lanzarote, including 14 women and four children.
Spanish coast guards wearing white suits work on a rescue operation as they tow a rubber boat carrying migrants, including a newborn baby, off the island[/caption]
When the coastguard ship arrived, it found the mum and the newborn baby both in good health.
Domingo Trujillo, the captain of the rescue vessel, told broadcaster TVE they knew there was a pregnant woman on board.
He said: “The surprise was [that we found] a totally naked baby who was born 10, 15 or 20 minutes earlier.”
The woman was lying on the floor of the crowded boat while the miracle baby was in the hands of someone else near her, the captain recalled.
Domingo added: “I covered him up, took him here [to my chest] and patted him so that he would stop crying.”
Medics onboard recommended the mother and baby be transferred to a hospital via helicopter.
Alvaro Serrano Perez, commander of the chopper, told Reuters: “Being Three Kings Day this was the best gift we could have received.”
The seven Spanish islands off northwestern Africa’s Atlantic coast are struggling to absorb a surge in irregular migrants, mainly from Mali, Senegal and Morocco.
The archipelago hit an all-time annual high for a second year in a row with 46,843 arrivals in 2024, constituting 73 per cent of the illegal migration to Spain, according to the latest data from the Interior Ministry.
Spanish coast guards wearing white suits work on a rescue operation as they tow a rubber boat carrying migrants[/caption]