Baby Born on Packed Migrant Boat off Canary Islands 'Doing Well'

A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
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Baby Born on Packed Migrant Boat off Canary Islands 'Doing Well'

A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo
A migrant holds a newborn baby as a woman lies inside a rubber boat with other migrants who were rescued off the island off the Canary Island of Lanzarote in Spain, in this handout picture obtained on January 8, 2025/File Photo

A baby girl, who was born on a packed migrant dinghy headed for Spain's Lanzarote island in the Canaries, was being treated in hospital along with her mother and both were in good condition, medical and regional government authorities said on Thursday.

The pair were being treated with antibiotics and monitored by a pediatric team, Dr Maria Sabalich, emergency coordinator of the Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote, told Reuters.

"The mother and child are safe," she said. "They are still in the hospital, but they are doing well."

The Spanish coastguard said the boat carrying the pregnant mother had embarked from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles (250 km) southeast of Lanzarote.

Upon discharge from hospital, the mother and infant will be received at a humanitarian center for migrants, before likely being moved to a reception center for mothers and young children on another island, Cristina Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Spanish government in the Canaries capital Las Palmas, told Reuters.

The latest arrivals add to the thousands of migrants that strike out for the Canaries from the western African coast each year on a perilous sea voyage that claims thousands of lives.

Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was straightforward, Domingo Trujillo, captain of the Spanish coastguard ship that rescued the migrants - a total of 60 people including 14 women and four children - told Spanish wire service EFE.

"The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and there were no problems, and we asked the woman's permission to undress her and clean her," he said. "The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her fellow passengers. The only thing we did was to check the child, give her to her mother and wrap them up for the trip."

Overnight, the Canary Islands' rescue services recovered two more boats, bearing a total of 144 people.

Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.

"Almost every night we leave at dawn and arrive 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 we are helping people in distress."



Concern as Orangutan Seen Roaming Indonesia Coal Site

This screen grab taken from video released by Ahmad Baihaqi shows a critically endangered orangutan walking in a coal mine in Borneo's East Kutai regency of East Kalimantan province on January 27, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Baihaqi / AFP)
This screen grab taken from video released by Ahmad Baihaqi shows a critically endangered orangutan walking in a coal mine in Borneo's East Kutai regency of East Kalimantan province on January 27, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Baihaqi / AFP)
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Concern as Orangutan Seen Roaming Indonesia Coal Site

This screen grab taken from video released by Ahmad Baihaqi shows a critically endangered orangutan walking in a coal mine in Borneo's East Kutai regency of East Kalimantan province on January 27, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Baihaqi / AFP)
This screen grab taken from video released by Ahmad Baihaqi shows a critically endangered orangutan walking in a coal mine in Borneo's East Kutai regency of East Kalimantan province on January 27, 2025. (Photo by Ahmad Baihaqi / AFP)

Footage of a seemingly confused orangutan roaming the desolate site of an Indonesian coal mine, meters from excavators, has sparked renewed concern about the future of the critically endangered species.

The images, taken last month by a local resident and verified by AFP, are from the same province on Borneo island where Indonesia is building its new capital, a project environmentalists fear will endanger animal habitats in Asia's last great rainforest.

Indonesia has one of the world's highest deforestation rates, with commodities mining a key driver, but it is also one of only two places in the world where orangutans are still found, along with Malaysia.

The footage, which went viral on Indonesian social media, shows the male orangutan roaming across a chasm of sand streaked with white and black rocks, dug into land still surrounded by vegetation.

"Humans are sometimes too greedy. I hope God won't punish us," read one comment on the video, which racked up tens of thousands of views across YouTube and TikTok.

Locals standing on a bluff overlooking the site filmed the creature as it meandered metres from a digger that was seemingly oblivious to its presence.

Ahmad Baihaqi, who filmed the images, said a group of locals had been watching activity at the mine site when they spotted the primate.

"I felt bad because he looked so confused," the 22-year-old driver told AFP.

"He was alone and looked lost, he didn't know where to go because the forest was disappearing."

The sighting took place in East Kalimantan, where Indonesia is building its multi-billion-dollar capital city Nusantara at breakneck speed.

- Habitat disturbed -

Although the coal mine is a nine-hour drive from the construction site, the images renewed doubts about government claims that economic activity in the province is not affecting endangered animals.

Local environmentalist Mappaselle of the Balikpapan Coastal Working Group, who like many Indonesians uses one name, said the footage was clear evidence of that impact.

The orangutan sighting "was definitely because their habitat has been disturbed and is getting smaller," he said.

"Our endangered wildlife could go extinct," he warned.

"It's a natural wealth from God to us on Earth. If wildlife goes extinct, humans have failed in our job to protect nature."

All three species of orangutan are considered critically endangered, though estimates of the number left in the wild vary considerably.

Ari Wibawanto, head of the local conservation agency which sits under Indonesia's environment ministry, told AFP its officials had located the 15-year-old wild orangutan and moved it to a protected forest area after the footage surfaced.

But he argued that it was natural for male orangutans to roam around.