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A woman has been arrested in connection with the dumping of a newborn baby in Durban last week.
According to KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, the 27-year-old was arrested while she was at a local hospital.
The baby girl was saved after emergency services conducted a mammoth three-hour rescue from a storm drain pipe.
This was after the child’s cries were heard around 07:30 on Monday on the corner of Barracuda Road and Herring Way in Newlands East.
A rescue effort involving a police search and rescue unit and numerous other services lasted for three hours.
Mbhele said the woman was under police guard.
She added that an intensive investigation led to the arrest of the woman.
“She will be facing the charges of attempted murder after a newborn baby was found in a drain at Newlands,” Mbhele said.
She said once the woman was declared fit, she would appear in court.
Soon after her rescue, the infant, dubbed a “miracle baby”, was taken to Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital where she was treated.
On arrival, she was said to have been in good health.
“She has been awake, responsive and crying. Her glucose and sugar levels are good. She is stable enough for [a] transfer to base hospital so the social aspect can be sorted,” Dr Timothy Hardcastle told journalists who were at the hospital shortly after the child’s rescue.
On arrival at the hospital, it was said that the biggest challenge was her temperature.
