Newborn baby left in airplane bin in Philippines

MANILA - A newborn baby boy was found Sunday in a rubbish bag removed from a plane that landed in the Philippines from the Middle East, airport officials said.

The baby was wrapped in tissue and still covered in blood when cleaners found him, said Maria Teresa Agores, a medical officer at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport said.

The garbage bag came from one of the toilets of a Gulf Air flight that arrived in Manila from Bahrain.

Airport security officer Tristan Dimaano said he noticed something moving inside the garbage bag.

“I was surprised the baby was alive,” he said. “He wasn’t crying at all.”

The airport’s medical team quickly checked the baby while airport personnel bought clothes and milk for him.

“The baby is healthy and in good condition,” Agores said, adding that airport personnel had decided to name the boy “George Francis” based on Gulf Air’s airline code of GF.

Authorities said efforts were being taken to find the baby’s mother, who could face criminal charges for abandoning her son.