A woman from Mali has given birth to nine babies after ultrasounds initially indicated she was expecting seven, the country’s health ministry has said.

Halima Cisse, 25, gave birth to five girls and four boys via Caesarian section, according to Malian health minister Dr Fanta Siby.

In a statement on Facebook, Dr Siby said the nonuplets and mother were “all doing well”.

Ms Cisse gave birth on Tuesday in Morocco, where she had been transferred in order to receive specialist care.

Before her transfer, she had spent two weeks at a hospital in Bamako, Mali’s capital.

The private Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca confirmed she had given birth there.

The UK’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said the birth was an “incredibly rare event but not impossible”.

“A ‘multiple pregnancy’ is the term used when you are expecting two or more babies at the same time. It occurs in about one in 80 pregnancies,” said Asma Khalil, professor of obstetrics and maternal foetal medicine at St George’s Hospital in London and RCOG spokesperson.

“It’s very positive to see reports that mother and babies are doing well and received the care they needed,” she added.