Police have launched an investigation after a newborn was found abandoned in a rubbish bin.
The tiny premature child was found alive on Thursday in a bin in Porto Cristo, a small coastal town part of the Manacor municipality located on the eastern coast of Spain’s Mallorca.
A local resident is said to have approached the bin after noticing a man with a “suspicious attitude”, as reported by local news outlet Ultima Hora, and throwing away a package.
The man had driven close to the bin at around 6pm local time, it has been claimed. He then briefly left the car to dispose of what turned out to be a baby wrapped in towels and covered in blood.
In the car driven by the man was an unidentified second passenger.
After discovering the child, the local resident alerted emergency services.
A patrol of the Territorial Coastal Unit of the Porto Cristo Local Police, supported by the National Police, flocked to the area and rushed to the local hospital with the newborn.
However, despite the intervention of the police the premature baby could not be saved.
Following the grim discovery, local police sealed off the site where the bin in which the baby was found is located.
The National Police are now looking for two suspects who could be linked to the abandonment of the newborn.
Officers are looking through footage filmed by security cameras in the area to find out the number plate of the vehicle driven by the man, a key clue that could help identify him.
An autopsy on the newborn scheduled to take place on November 3 reportedly looked into whether the child had died on the way to the hospital.
If this is confirmed, those involved in the abandonment of the newborn could face being charged with murder.
News of the baby reportedly upset the residents of the small town, which has around 8,000 inhabitants.
Ultima Hora reported the news caused “great consternation” among locals.
