INVESTIGATIONS are underway following the gruesome discovery of a body a newborn baby  inside a bin along Dr Pixley Ka Seme Street (formerly West Street) in the Durban CBD.

Kyle van Reenen of Ensure Security said the newborn was found by a bin picker in the early hours of this morning. He said members of Ensure Security Urban Regeneration Team were flagged down by a man in Dr Pixley Ka Seme Street at approximately 02:00. “The man stated he had been digging through the bins when he made a gruesome discovery. The body of a lifeless newborn baby lay wrapped in newspapers, discarded in the rubbish bin. The scene was secured and handed over to the South African Police Services for further investigation and processing,” added Van Reenen.

Also Read: Six abandoned newborns at Addington Hospital in need of donations

The incident comes just a week after the City raised the alarm about the rising number of teenage pregnancies in eThekwini. At the Teenage Pregnancy Indaba on May 20 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, it revealed alarming trends regarding terminations of pregnancy, with an average of 582 teenagers per month accessing safe abortion services at municipal health facilities.

eThekwini deputy mayor Zandile Myeni said that this figure excluded the unsafe terminations conducted in unregulated environments. “We need all hands on deck from parents, teachers, community leaders and government to address this issue,” she urged.

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