WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Police: Mom gave birth, maybe left child on plane
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-19 09:44

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand police are investigating whether a woman gave birth on a flight from Samoa to New Zealand then left the baby behind on the plane, an official said Thursday.

"We are investigating suggestions that the baby was abandoned on board the aircraft," police communications manager Ana-Mari Gates-Bowey told The Associated Press.

"We are not 100 percent sure ... whether it was found on the aircraft or whether the mother went back" for the baby, she said.

Gates-Bowey said the mother and baby are together at a maternity ward and doing well.

Pacific Blue airline said "a female guest gave birth on board our flight DJ94 from (the Samoan capital) Apia to Auckland this morning," but declined to give further details.

The airline's Web site says pregnant women require medical clearance to fly if they have experienced complications or have passed 36 weeks of pregnancy.