Newborn found alive in airport garbage

MANILA, Philippines – An airport security officer found a newborn baby in a garbage bag apparently unloaded from an airplane on Sunday, officials said.

Security officials brought the boy, who was covered in blood and wrapped in tissue paper, to an airport clinic, where doctors and nurses examined him and cleaned him, airport officials said.

“After he was cleaned, he let off a soft cry,” airport nurse Kate Calvo said. “He was healthy, his vital signs were OK according to our doctors.”

A security officer noticed something moving in a garbage bag that was reportedly unloaded from a Gulf Air plane that arrived from Bahrain and found the baby inside, an airport statement said. The baby was later turned over to social workers posted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said she was angered by what happened, adding that police have been ordered to search for the infant’s mother, who could be criminally charged.