A baby abandoned in a blue carry bag near Johannesburg’s busy MTN taxi rank was saved by the quick thinking of two Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers on Thursday night. 

JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said on Friday that officers Nathi Mkhabela and Richard Makhuvele of the recovery unit were patrolling the inner city when they noticed a group of street children huddled together, staring at something.

Mkhabela went over and when he got closer, he heard a baby crying. 

The infant had been abandoned in the bag on the corner of Plein and Quartz streets. 

He brought the recovery truck closer to protect the scene and called emergency services for help. 

“The baby was crying profusely so officer Mkhabela picked the baby up and at that moment, the baby stopped crying,” said Fihla. 

The officers took the baby out of the cold night air and turned up the heater in their truck to keep the little girl warm until the ambulance arrived for her.

Paramedics checked the little girl and estimated that she was three to five days old. 

She was taken to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital for observation and social workers will decide what to do next. 

Messages of appreciation for the officers were posted on the Facebook profile of JMPD chief David Tembe.

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