Police: Woman, not infant, fell from Belfast ferry
May 10, 2012, 2:18 PM
DUBLIN (AP) – Police in Northern Ireland say they have ended an overnight search of Belfast Lough after a woman’s claim that her baby fell from a ferry into the water proved to be false.
The story that a 37-year-old woman and her infant plunged together into the harbor _ but only the mother was rescued _ made headlines Thursday across Britain and Ireland.
But police said officers have concluded the woman fell alone. She spent 15 minutes in the water and was treated for hypothermia in a Belfast hospital.
Police say other passengers on the ferry from Scotland reported seeing a baby with the woman, but after interviewing her family, they now believe she had no child with her.
The search lasted 18 hours and involved a police helicopter and several vessels.
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