Baby found headless on Spanish beach had died in migrant boat tragedy in April which also claimed her parents’ lives, police reveal
- The child, originally thought to be two-to-three years old, was found a week ago
- Spanish police confirmed today she was an eight-month-old baby who died in migrant boat which capsized near to the Balearic Islands
The baby whose decomposed headless body was found on a Spanish beach a week ago died after a migrant boat tragedy in April in which her parents also lost their lives, police have revealed.
Initial reports put the youngster’s age at between two to three years following the grim discovery at the beach in the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Bera on July 11.
It later emerged following tests she was a baby girl and had been aged around six months when she died.
Spanish police confirmed today the child had been identified and said she was an eight-month-old baby who died on a migrant boat which capsized near to the Balearic Islands on April 6 in a tragedy in which 15 people including her parents lost their lives.
The Civil Guard said the rickety wooden boat, called a patera in Spanish, had left Cherchel in Algeria on March 21 and had been at sea for 17 days when tragedy struck.
Police are pictured investigating the discovery of a ‘headless’ child’s body on a Costa beach
Eight bodies were recovered including the baby girl’s.
The confirmation of the youngster’s identity came through DNA tests which showed a match to her mum.
Roda de Bera mayor Pere Virgili said after last Tuesday morning’s grim discovery the child could have been on a migrant boat that sank in the Mediterranean.
In a dramatic reference to the massive number of migrants who have died or disappeared and are feared dead while trying to make the dangerous crossing to Europe on vessels including rickety and overcrowded wooden boats, he said: ‘The hypothesis that this baby’s body is another one from this Mare Mortum off our beaches is on the table.’
He said the clothes the baby had on, which included a jacket, didn’t point to her drowning in a typical beach accident.
The remains of the youngster were found on the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Berà in the east coast province of Tarragona
A council cleaner made the grim find and alerted his bosses who called police.
Civil Guard officers cordoned off the area and moved locals and holidaymakers on to other areas of the sand before an investigating judge authorised the removal of the body.
It subsequently emerged the decomposed body had washed up on the beach the previous day, but had been ignored by passers-by who mistook it for a doll.
Roda de Bera is a 25-minute drive north of the Spanish east coast city of Tarragona. Barcelona is just over an hour’s drive north.
The town, well-known thanks to its Roman arch, was mainly dedicated exclusively to agriculture until the second half of the 20th century when it became an important tourist spot on the Costa Dorada.
Source: Read Full Article
