Baby found headless on Spanish beach had died in April in migrant boat tragedy that also killed her parents, police reveal
- The child, originally thought to be two to three years old, was found a week ago
- Spanish police confirmed today that she was an eight-month-old baby who died in a migrant boat that capsized near the Balearic Islands.
The baby whose decapitated body was found decomposing on a Spanish beach a week ago died after a migrant boat tragedy in April that also killed her parents, police have revealed.
Initial reports say the boy was between two and three years old after the grim discovery on the beach of the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Bera on July 11.
Later tests revealed she was a baby girl and was about six months old when she died.
Spanish police today confirmed the child had been identified, saying it was an eight-month-old baby who died on a migrant boat that capsized near the Balearic Islands on April 6 in a tragedy that left 15 people dead, including her parents .
The Guardia Civil said the rickety wooden boat, called patera in Spanish, left Cherchel in Algeria on March 21 and had been at sea for 17 days when disaster struck.
Police are investigating the discovery of the body of a headless child on a beach on the Costa Dorada
Eight bodies were recovered, including that of the baby girl.
Confirmation of the youngster’s identity came through DNA testing that showed a match with her mother.
Roda de Bera mayor Pere Virgili said after Tuesday morning’s grim discovery that the child may have been on a migrant boat that sank in the Mediterranean.
In a dramatic reference to the huge number of migrants who have died or disappeared and are feared dead after trying to make the perilous crossing to Europe on ships, including rickety and overcrowded wooden boats, he said: “The hypothesis that the body of this baby is another of this Mare Mortum of our beaches is on the table.’
He said the clothes the baby was wearing, including a jacket, did not indicate that she drowned in a typical beach accident.
The boy’s remains were found in Roda de Berà on the Costa Dorada in the Tarragona province on the east coast.
A municipal cleaner made the grim discovery and alerted his bosses who called the police.
Guardia Civil officials cordoned off the area and moved locals and holidaymakers to other parts of the sand before an investigating judge authorized the removal of the body.
It later emerged that the decomposed body had washed up on the beach the previous day, but had been ignored by passersby who mistook it for a doll.
Roda de Bera is a 25 minute drive north of the Spanish city of Tarragona on the east coast. Barcelona is just over an hour’s drive to the north.
Known for its Roman arch, the town was mainly devoted to agriculture until the second half of the 20th century, when it became an important tourist resort on the Costa Dorada.