Durban - A newborn baby found abandoned on a street trader’s table in the middle of Durban’s CBD has been taken to a place of safety while another was found dead on a busy Durban North street.
A baby girl was found alive in a shopping bag on Thursday night in Dr Pixley KaSeme (West) Street and a baby boy was found dead on Sunday in bushes along Riverside Road in Durban North.
On Thursday, during peak hour shopping, an unknown person left a black shopping bag on an unoccupied street vendor’s table near Plowright Lane, which runs between Dr Pixley KaSeme and Monty Naicker (Pine) Road. Vendor, Paulos Manisa, who sells belts and wallets nearby, said he saw the bag on the table and was curious to know what was inside.
“Nobody was near the bag. People just walked past. I peered inside and got a shock when a baby looked up at me. The baby was moving her hands in a playful manner. It had a hood on,” Manisa said.
Leon Chidugundu, a security guard, said he had thought the mother was nearby so they started to ask everyone if they knew who had left the baby.
“Many women walking by checked the baby to see if it was in good health. The police arrived and took the baby. No one came forward and claimed the baby,” he said.
undefinedThe baby was taken to Durban Central police station and handed over to social workers.
At the corner of Browns Drift and Riverside Road, two men found the lifeless body of a newborn in a plastic bag.
Crisis Medical paramedics spokesman, Kyle van Reenen, said the baby was found in a rubbish bag at 7am.
“The umbilical cord was still intact. Unfortunately the baby had no signs of life and was declared dead at the scene. Police were investigating,” he said.
The Crisis Medical Facebook page received a stream of messages about the abandoned boy. Michelle Hardman commented, “So sad for the baby to be alive for 9 months (in the womb) then abandoned to die. So many other options for that mother to give happiness to someone else that can’t have children. Too sad.”
Police were unavailable for comment. Last month a newborn baby boy was wrapped in blankets and left at the back gate of a Newlands East property. Residents helped feed and clothe the infant. The baby is now also at a place of safety.
Daily News