Mediterranean migrant crisis: Baby 'Destiny' born on Irish rescue ship

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33615670

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A baby has been born on board an Irish Naval Service vessel during a migrant rescue operation in the Mediterranean.

The girl, named Destiny, was delivered by Irish medics on board the LÉ Niamh on Tuesday, as the ship was taking 370 rescued migrants to an Italian port.

The baby girl's mother was one of 14 pregnant women who were taken on board the vessel on Monday, in an operation to assist the Italian authorities.

She went into labour prematurely, but both mother and baby are "doing well".

The child was born after 63 minutes of labour.

A spokesperson for the Irish Defence Forces said the Italian Coast Guard is transferring the pair to a port in Sicily, "so that mother and baby can receive post-natal care as quickly as possible".

The LÉ Niamh is the second Irish naval vessel to be deployed to assist the humanitarian rescue operation in the Mediterranean.

Its sister ship, the LÉ Eithne, brought more than 3,376 migrants to safety during its seven-week deployment that began on 16 May.

Its replacement had faced similar challenges from the thousands of migrants at risk from drowning as they try to reach European shores.

On Monday afternoon, the LÉ Niamh rescued 256 migrants from a wooden barge 90 kilometres north-east of Tripoli.

The ship then picked up a further 114 migrants from a Médecins Sans Frontiéres vessel called the MV Dignity.

The new born baby's mother was among this group but she went into labour four weeks prematurely.

Half an hour after the birth, an Italian Coast Guard vessel brought two Italian doctors to the Irish ship and then transferred the new family to the port of Trapani in Sicily.

The 369 migrants who are still on board the LÉ Niamh are expected to arrive in Palermo, Italy, on Wednesday.