As a baby floated out to sea, Turkey’s coast guard was only called in after Melda Ilgin’s parents failed to rescue their little baby girl. Fortunately, the Turkish coast guard was able to rescue the tiny toddler from her inflatable, but only after she had floated on the currents more than a kilometer out to sea. The story has gained international attention and some wonder whether Turkey will charge the parents with child negligence.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, reports from Turkey say the baby floated out to sea while the parents were busy sunbathing.

“The Ilgın family went to the public beach in the town of Küçükkuyu on Friday, where they placed young Melda on a flotation device and left her in the water nearby,” Turkish news sites reported last week. “However, between strong northern winds and the family’s lack of attention, the young girl quickly began floating off into the open sea in the direction of the Greek island of Lesbos.”

Reports claim the parents were not aware of what had happened until other sunbathers at the beach warned them. They had left their baby girl unattended while enjoying themselves on the beach and it said they had forgotten she was even floating around within an inflatable crib. Some people in the crowd tried to reach the crib, but failed.

As the baby floated out to sea, further and further away from Turkey’s beaches, the wind began to pick up, and as baby Melda floated out of sight the crowd was not even sure if she was still within the inflatable crib. Fortunately, baby Melda Ilgin was peacefully unaware of her dangerous predicament and apparently slept during the entire ordeal.

In the end, the Turkish coast guard was called in to rescue the sleeping child. The video shows a Turkish coast guard officer jumping into the water to stay with the child until she was pulled into the boat. Melda Ilgin was reunited with her family at the dockside at Çanakkale, where crowds of watchers had gathered to watch the crazy scene.

Based upon photos of the incident, the child seemed to be in good health, but some on social media claim the parents need to be charged with child neglect. In the United States, child negligence laws allow for charges due to physical neglect.

“Physical neglect is the most common form of neglect, and it involves the failure of a caregiver to provide for the basic physical needs of the child, such as food, shelter, clothing, and even sanitary living conditions. A person can also be found guilty of neglect if he or she abandons the child or fails to properly supervise the child over an extended period of time.”

Turkish law is different. If the poor baby had died then Turkish laws say that anyone “who causes death of a person by negligent conduct is punished with imprisonment from three years to six years.” There are various laws which apply to children, but if Turkish authorities wish to press charges then an announcement has not been made as of this publishing.

[Image via Mirror]