An incident at Doha’s Hamad airport, where Australian women were taken off a plane and subjected to an invasive search after the discovery of a newborn baby abandoned in the terminal, has been referred to Australian federal police, Australia said.
Thirteen Australians were among the women on the flight run by state-owned Qatar Airways who were forced to undergo a medical examination in an ambulance after the newborn was found in an airport bathroom, television network Seven News said.
All adult women on the flight, regardless of age, were made to disembark for the examination, two of the women told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne confirmed the women had contacted the Australian government at the time of the incident, adding that it had taken up the matter with Qatar’s ambassador.
The “extraordinary incident” had also been reported to the Australian Federal Police, she said.
One of the flights involved, Qatar Airways' October 2 flight QR908 to Sydney, wasfour hours late departing Doha as a result, according to specialised air traffic website Flightradar24.
Women from several other countries and flights are understood to have been affected, but their numbers and nationalities are not yet known.
Doha airport launched an appeal late Sunday for the child's mother to come forward, suggesting that the checks undertaken at the time were inconclusive.
"The newborn infant remains unidentified, but is safe under the professional care of medical and social workers," it said in its statement, and requested that anyone with information come forward.
An Australian government spokeswoman said the country was "deeply concerned at the unacceptable treatment" of the female passengers.
"The advice that has been provided indicates that the treatment of the women concerned was offensive, grossly inappropriate, and beyond circumstances in which the women could give free and informed consent," she said in a statement. AFP
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