Baby born in Bolivia with heart outside her chest

A baby was born with her heart outside her chest in the northeastern Bolivian province of Beni and authorities made arrangements Monday to transport her to a hospital in the country’s largest city to be treated by specialists.

President Evo Morales tweeted that after learning of the plight of the baby at the maternity hospital in Guayaramerin, a town on the border with Brazil, he instructed the Health Ministry to provide all necessary assistance to the girl and her family.

Weighing only 2.2kgs (4.84lbs), the baby is suffering from a rare genetic defect known as ectopia cordis, which occurs in roughly one in every 126,000 births.

On its Facebook page, the Health Ministry said that officials activated an emergency system to ensure the baby’s timely transfer to the hospital in Santa Cruz, 808km (502mi) from Guayaramerin.

The ministry posted photographs showing the baby inside an incubator as she was carried aboard an air force plane for the flight to Santa Cruz.