Lifeguards assist in birth at sea

A woman gave birth on board a lifeguard’s vessel just minutes after being rescued from a small boat on which she was travelling with 51 other people.

The boat was carrying illegal Sub-Saharan immigrants, including 14 women and five children, who were rescued by the Guardamar Caliope in the Alboran Sea.

It was first spotted from a helicopter off a French warship, who alerted the Spanish Navy.

The crew on board assisted with the birth and then the woman was attended by a doctor from the Armada Meteoro which was nearby at the time.

The doctor came on board the Caliope and cut the umbilical cord, then confirmed that mother and baby were in good health. The group was then taken to Almeria Port.