Businessman rescues abandoned newborn baby, in a critical state, from a nearby Port Shepstone construction site
|Published
Durban - A newborn baby found in a critical condition with a low body temperature was found abandoned at a construction site in Port Shepstone on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast yesterday.
According to security company, Mi7 National Group spokesperson Colin David, the newborn was just hours old.
David said at around midday, the Mi7 National Group’s Emergency Medical Services was dispatched after reports that a newborn baby was found abandoned at a construction site in Port Shepstone.
“It is believed the owner of a nearby hardware store found the infant abandoned in a shallow hole on the adjacent construction site. The infant was wrapped in a plastic bag and a T-shirt,” said David.
David said the owner of the store immediately rushed to purchase a blanket to wrap around the infant before medics arrived.
“Mi7 medics arrived to find the baby, believed to be only a few hours old, in a hypothermic state,” he said.
He said the medics worked quickly to stabilise the infant. The baby was then transported to a nearby hospital for further care.
Police are investigating the matter, he said.
The Mercury’s sister publication, the Daily News, reported that a Good Samaritan rescued a newborn baby dumped in the bush, in the sweltering heat, in Phoenix last month.
Farouk Bobat, 59, said his wife heard a baby cry while hanging her laundry. The house is situated next to the Phoenix highway.
Bobat then requested that two passers-by investigate and a baby was found in a plastic bag.
A resident gave the baby boy, who was found unclothed, milk as he was dehydrated and sunburnt.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said Phoenix police were investigating a case of child abandonment.