A headless body that was found on a Spanish beach has been identified as a baby girl who was less than six-months-old, following autopsy results.
A council cleaner found the body on Tuesday morning at the Costa Dorada resort of Roda de Bera, and people were instructed to vacate the area.
As reported by the Mirror, the body had washed up on the beach the day before it was removed, but passersby assumed that it was a doll so did not report it.
Following the discovery, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard said: "All we can confirm at the moment is that the body of a baby has been found at Roda de Bera beach in the province of Tarragona. The alarm was raised at 08:50AM this morning. The matter is still under investigation."
Following the removal of the body, an autopsy has since revealed that the child was younger than six months old when she passed away and that she had been in the water for between a fortnight and two months.
Further tests are currently been carried out to determine the child's ethnicity and probable cause of death - as authorities are currently considering whether she died accidentally or whether she was the victim of a crime.
Roda de Bera mayor Pere Virgili has claimed that the child could have been a passenger on a migrant boat that sank in the Mediterranean.
"The hypothesis that this baby’s body is another one from this 'Mare Mortum' off our beaches is on the table," the Mayor said, referencing the large number of migrant deaths in the sea at this current time.
He noted that the baby had been wearing a jacket, and the clothes did not indicate that she had died due to an accident on the beach.
As reported by Reuters, the United Nations has registered more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean since 2014, making the waters the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.
In June of this year, a migrant boat sank near Greece, killing over 300 Pakistani nationals on board, which shone a lot on the crisis as people risk their lives to flee their countries which are consumed by war, persecution and poverty.
Greek rescuers came under fire as it was alleged that the manner in which they handled the overcrowded fishing trawler may have contributed to its sinking.
Tarek Aldroobi, a man who had three relatives onboard, told CNN that he believes Greek authorities that were attempting to tow the vessel had tied ropes in the wrong places.
"Their boat was in good condition and the Greek navy tried towing them to the beach but the ropes were tied in the wrong places," Aldroobi said. "When the Greek navy tried pulling them it caused the boat to capsize."
The Greek coastguard disputes this claim, stating: "The engine broke down at 1:40 a.m. and at 2:00 a.m. it sank – therefore there can be no connection between (the coast guard approaching the boat and the time of its sinking)."
Nikos Alexiou, a spokesman for the coast guard added: "When the boat capsized, we were not even next to the boat. How could we be towing it?"
More investigations will be launched into the tragic death of the baby girl.
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