Iyron Lovedale was walking along the roadside when he heard a ‘kitten’ trapped in the drain, he climbed down and saw it was actually a baby so he called emergency services.
Newlands East, Durban – A harrowing rescue took place yesterday in Durban after a heroic man climbed down a drain to rescue a kitten. Iyron Lovedale was walking along when he heard a faint crying sound, he assumed it was a kitten but climbed down the drain anyway to see how he could help.
Using a torch, he scanned over the area and that is when he saw the baby trapped in the drain. He quickly climbed back out the drain and called emergency services for assistance.
He stuck around during the harrowing rescue to make sure the baby was safe. In an interview with Jackie Clausen, he confirmed that he was very happy the baby was ok.
Iyron Lovedale who was first to discover the baby in the drain @TimesLIVE #Baby #babyInDrain #BabyRescue pic.twitter.com/cvDr7Ezvn3
— Jackie Clausen Pics (@jackie_pics) February 11, 2019
When emergency services arrived on the scene, they assessed the situation and realised they would need to do some groundwork to get the baby safely out. The newborn baby girl still had the placenta attached when found in the storm drain on the corner of Barracuda Drive and Herring Circle in Newlands East, outside Durban.
Emergency services worked for three hours to get her free, breaking the pipe and clearing its surroundings to free her. The efforts of Durban Fire and Rescue, Rescue Care, DUT emergency medicine instructors, KZN Emergency Medical Services, the SAPS and Metro search and rescue were a great success and she was finally freed.
“The baby has been safely removed out of the stormwater drain alive and is been stabilised on scene before being loaded into the AMS medical helicopter,” – Garrith Jamieson, Rescue Care paramedics spokesperson
She was stabilised and immediately airlifted to Albert Luthuli hospital where she is currently receiving medical care. Since the entire ordeal, Iyron has nicknamed the little girl Storm.
You can watch the harrowing rescue footage below.
Child abandonment continues to be a major challenge in South Africa. Every year it is estimated that 3,500 children are abandoned and this figure refers only to the children who survive. Of these survivors, 90% are under the age of one. They are left alone and defenceless.
If you want to help abandoned babies in any way, please contact The Door of Hope or The Teddy Bear Clinic for more info.
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