Dash for the border: Cops find a child migrant squeezed into a car’s DASHBOARD in an attempt to enter a Spanish enclave in Africa
- Guards on the Melilla border had to call in medics to revive the boy
- The boy needed urgent treatment for dizziness, numbness and lack of air
- The youngster has told police he is 17 but they believe he is younger
This is the shocking moment police discovered a child squeezed into the dashboard of a car in a bid to smuggle him into Spain.
The hidden compartment was so small that the boy had to lie in the fetal position and nearly suffocated.
Guards on the Melilla border had to call in medics to revive him and he needed urgent treatment for dizziness, numbness and lack of air.
The shock find is just the latest in a string of smuggling attempts involving migrants who try to hide in cars, including in the engines and under seats.
In this case, a man and woman have been arrested for attempted people smuggling and remanded in prison.
The boy has told police he is 17 but they believe he is younger.
The car was trying to get through the checkpoint at Beni Enzar into Spain. Civil Guard officers became suspicious of the Moroccan couple and searched the vehicle because of their “evasive attitude”.
Specialist equipment was used to detect heartbeats and the boy was found inside the dashboard.
“He was in the fetal position and showed symptoms of numbness and sweating. Once released, he was weak and disorientated and needed first aid for resuscitation and stabilisation,” said a police spokesman.
The boy is of sub-Saharan origin and came from Mali.