On Monday afternoon, two officers in a Guardia Civil patrol car went to the assistance of a British couple in Es Mercadal, Minorca. They had been called because the woman, in her 34th week of pregnancy, was on the point of giving birth.
The officers realised that the woman's waters had broken. Coordinating with the Guardia Civil operational centre for medical support, they took the couple - holidaymakers in Minorca - to the Mateu Orfila Hospital in Mahon. On the way, the contractions increased and a baby girl was born.
When they arrived at the hospital's emergencies, one of the officers observed that they had "a new passenger on board".
Because it was a premature birth, the baby and mother were subsequently transferred to the specialist unit at Son Espases in Palma. The health service in Minorca reports that the baby is in a stable condition at Son Espases.