PEOPLE from across the country watched with bated breath as the rescue of a newborn baby girl, trapped in a storm water drain in Newlands East, Durban, unfolded on social media yesterday. There were cheers as it was confirmed that she had been successfully recovered from the drain pipe and air lifted to a nearby hospital.
Fortunately, the infant, who has been named Sibanisethu/Gabriella, has been given a ‘clean bill of health’.
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said the baby arrived at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital with mild hypothermia and the trauma team had to clean her and warm her core temperature.
She was also assessed and is being treated by a team of pediatricians and will be transferred to another hospital, he said.
Dhlomo added that it was nothing short of a miracle that baby Sibanisethu survived, however many other babies were sadly not so fortunate.
He said the incident has been a ‘wake up call’ to the failures of the department’s family planning programmes.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Baby girl stable after three hour rescue mission
“This little one is the result of an unplanned, obviously an unwanted pregnancy resulting in a mother deciding to go and throw this baby into the storm water drain” he said, adding that the incident had had prompted the department to endevour to strengthen its family planning campaigns.”
Dhlomo urged women who might find themselves in an unwanted pregnancy to go to their nearest hospital where social workers would be able to advise them on their options.
Several teams of emergency services jumped into action yesterday morning at around 6.30 after a passerby heard the baby crying and alerted authorities.
After a grueling three-hour rescue mission, the baby was stabalised and transported to hospital.
The South African Police Service has opened a case of attempted murder. At this stage, no arrests have been made.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
