To catch connecting flight, woman throws newborn in bin at Austrian airport

Vienna: An Austrian woman was arrested for allegedly throwing her newborn baby in a dustbin at Vienna's Schwechat International Airport in Austria.

According to a report in the Mirror, the wailing newborn was found by the cleaners at the airport. It was wrapped in a plastic bag, said cleaners who then reported the matter to the authorities.

About half an hour later, police found the newborn’s mother sleeping in the airport’s waiting area, covered in blood.

The Nigerian-origin mother of the newborn claimed that it was stillborn. However, police refused to believe her.

The authorities have ordered an autopsy to ascertain the cause of the infant’s death.

While the authorities were trying to determine the cause behind the gruesome act, some media reports stated that the accused who was flying from Minsk, Belarus to Washington DC, threw her baby in the bin in order to not miss her connecting flight.

The accused has been arrested and put in pre-trial detention. According to Article 79 of the Austrian Criminal Code, the accused’s offence can land her in prison for a minimum term of six months that can go up to five years.