Despite being thrown from a bridge into a river inside a rucksack, a newborn baby has miraculously survived.
On the morning of 17 November, witnesses told Military Police they saw a man throw a bag into the Capibaribe River in Sao Lourenco da Mata, Brazil.
The infant was saved by two fishermen under the bridge after they saw the bag crash into the river and heard the baby’s cries.
After calling Military Police, the two men took the baby to a nearby maternity hospital.
Apparently, the baby had been born only hours earlier, and the umbilical cord had been cut ‘unprofessionally’.
She remains under observation at the hospital in a stable condition, according to health officials.
In Brazil, abortion is illegal, punishable by one to three years in prison, with some exemptions.
Even though legislation has been passed to make the process of giving up children for adoption easier, new parents still face barriers.
The biker remains at large at the time of writing.
The mother of another baby who survived a 118ft fall from a bridge in north east Brazil in 2018 was reported to suffer from mental health problems and depression.
Police officers rescued the child, who suffered only minor bruises.
The child’s relatives claim that the mother was sexually abused while hospitalized at the Sao Francisco mental health unit in 2017.