RAW FOOTAGE : Abandoned Chinese baby rescued from toilet pipe

[Discovery]

Abandoned Chinese baby rescued from toilet pipe

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BEIJING | Tue May 28, 2013 3:16am EDT

(Reuters) - Firefighters in eastern China have rescued an abandoned newborn baby boy lodged in a sewage pipe directly beneath a toilet commode, state television reported, in a case which has sparked anger on social media sites.

There are frequent reports in Chinese media of babies being abandoned, often shortly after birth, a problem attributed variously to young mothers unaware they were pregnant, the birth of an unwanted girl in a society which puts greater value on boys or China's strict family planning rules.

In the latest case the infant was found in the sewage pipe in a residential building in Jinhua in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang on Saturday afternoon after residents reported the sound of a baby crying, state television said late on Monday.

Firefighters had to remove the pipe and take it to a nearby hospital, where doctors carefully cut around it to rescue the baby boy inside, the report said.

The child is in a stable condition and the police are looking for his parents, state television added.

The case has been widely discussed on China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo due to the graphic nature of the footage, with calls for the parents to be severely punished.

"The parents who did this have hearts even filthier than that sewage pipe," wrote one user.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sally Huang; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

[Discovery]

Newborn Chinese baby is rescued ALIVE from toilet pipe after being flushed away by parents

• Baby boy, believed to be a newborn, discovered beneath a toilet commode
• Firefighters removed section of pipe and doctors cut the infant free
• Emergency services called after woman heard cries coming from pipe
• Baby called 'number 59' after the number of his incubator, reports said

By James Nye and Anna Edwards
PUBLISHED: 05:57 GMT, 28 May 2013 | UPDATED: 10:50 GMT, 28 May 2013

Firefighters in eastern China have rescued an abandoned newborn baby boy lodged in a sewage pipe. The infant was stuck in a pipe directly beneath a toilet commode, state television reported, in a case which has sparked anger on social media sites.

There are frequent reports in Chinese media of babies being abandoned, often shortly after birth.

Harrowing: Firefighters work to free the unwanted baby from the pipe in Pujiang, Zhejiang Province, China

Fight for survival: The newborn baby was rescued by firefighters after being flushed down a toilet

At a public toilet on the fourth floor firefighters were able to hear faint cries and, exploring further, spotted the baby's foot deep inside the pipe

Unbelievably, the baby survived the ordeal, which saw him having to be cut out of a pipe

Firefighters received a call from a landlady of a block of flats saying that she thought a baby was trapped in a toilet pipe in the building as she had heard it crying

The problem is attributed variously to young mothers unaware they were pregnant, the birth of an unwanted girl in a society which puts greater value on boys or China's strict family planning rules.

In the latest case the infant was found in the sewage pipe in a residential building in Jinhua in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang on Saturday afternoon. The harrowing discovery came after residents reported the sound of a baby crying, state television said late on Monday. The pipe was just four inches wide in diameter the China Daily newspaper said. Firefighters had to remove the pipe and take it to a nearby hospital, where doctors carefully cut around it to rescue the baby boy inside, the report said.

The firefighters worked quickly to dismantle the pipe and rescue the trapped youngster, who was heard wailing

Firefighters gently carried away the section of pipe that contained the terrified baby

There are many reports in Chinese media of babies being abandoned, often shortly after birth, making this incident a distressing but common occurrence

Doctors carefully cut around the sewage pipe to rescue the baby boy inside

His arms had been pinned to his side, and when the confines of the pipe had been delicately prised away, he let out a long wail - much to the relief of doctors who were battling against the clock to rescue him. His eyes, face and body were covered in the filth of the pipe.

The child is in a stable condition and the police are looking for his parents, state television added. The Associated Press said the child had been named Baby No 59 from the number of his incubator, the Guardian reported.

A number of visitors have donated nappies, baby clothes and powdered milk to the hospital to help the little boy, the news agency added. The case has been widely discussed on China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo due to the graphic nature of the footage, with calls for the parents to be severely punished.

'The parents who did this have hearts even filthier than that sewage pipe,' wrote one user.

The child is in a stable condition and the police are looking for his parents, Chinese state television reported

Firefighters and doctors rescue an abandoned newborn baby boy by cutting away a sewage pipe piece by piece, in this still image taken from video, in Jinhua city, Zhejiang province May 25, 2013

People have angrily reacted to the news, demanding the parents be punished and denouncing their cruel act

The abandoned child has been named Baby No 59 from the number of his incubator, according to reports

Nurses treat the baby, who was believed to be only a few days old when he was flushed away

 

[Discovery]

Baby 'Healthy' After China Toilet Pipe Rescue

The baby's young unmarried mother - who hid her pregnancy from neighbours - raised the alarm after unexpectedly giving birth.

2:21pm Tuesday 28 May 2013

The as yet un-named baby is "very healthy" in hospital. Pic: v.ifeng.com

A newborn baby boy lodged in a sewage pipe directly beneath a toilet has been rescued by firefighters in eastern China.

Suggestions that the child had been dumped have been revised after it emerged that the 22-year-old unmarried mother of the baby was the one who raised the alarm.

According to a police source in Jinhua, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the woman gave birth unexpectedly when she went to the lavatory on Saturday, and the newborn fell into the squat toilet.

The mother, who had hidden her pregnancy, telephoned her landlord, claiming she heard "weird noises" in the pipe, and the proprietor called police after spotting the infant.

Firefighters had to remove the pipe, reported to be 10cm (three inches) in diameter, and take it to a nearby hospital, where doctors carefully cut around it to rescue the baby inside.

They spent nearly an hour taking the tube apart piece by piece with pliers and saws and finally recovered the 5lb (2.3kg) boy, whose placenta was still attached.

From the time he was found until when he was taken out, the baby was stuck in the tube for two to three hours, according to the policeman who declined to be named.

"The woman was on the scene during the entire rescue process ... and admitted (she was the mother) when we asked her," he said, adding they were still looking for the boy's father.

"We need further investigations to find out if she had any malicious intentions" before deciding whether the mother would be charged, he added.

According to the officer: "The baby is very healthy now and can be released from the hospital."

But the mother was in a serious condition due to complications from the delivery, he added.

Video footage of the rescue was broadcast nationally overnight before details of the unexpected birth emerged.

The news triggered hundreds of thousands of comments on China's hugely popular Weibo service, which is similar to Twitter, with users expressing good wishes for the baby.

One user, If-Free, said watching the rescue left her distraught.

"Seeing the little one wriggling and groaning as the pipe was torn apart bit by bit wrings my heart ... You've lived through the hardest moment in your life and your future will definitely be smooth," she said.

There are frequent reports in Chinese media of babies being abandoned, often shortly after birth.

The problem is attributed to factors such as young mothers unaware they were pregnant, the birth of an unwanted girl in a society which puts greater value on boys or China's strict family planning rules.

 

[Joe Higashi]

Baby 59: newborn found in sewage pipe in China 'leaves hospital with grandparents'

A Chinese baby who grabbed global headlines after being miraculously rescued from a sewage pipe has been collected from hospital by his family after authorities decided he had become trapped by accident.

Firefighters and doctors rescue the abandoned newborn by cutting away a sewage pipe piece by piece Photo: Reuters

By Tom Phillips in Shanghai
1:24PM BST 30 May 2013

Baby 59 – a newborn baby from the eastern province of Zhejiang – was found on Saturday afternoon lodged in a drain underneath a communal lavatory.

Following a dramatic rescue operation that lasted nearly two hours and was captured on camera, the baby was freed and nicknamed Baby 59 after its incubator in Zhejiang's Pujiang People's Hospital.

On Thursday morning, a hospital official who declined to be named, told The Daily Telegraph the child had now been released. "We just know that the family came yesterday, accompanied by county public security officers, and took away the baby," he said.

State media reported that the boy had been released from the hospital into the custody of his maternal grandparents.

The man believed to be his father has requested a paternity test and - if the baby is his - is ready to discuss with the unwed mother how to support the child, an official at the Pujiang county propaganda office in Zhejiang province in the eastern part of the country told AP.

It was not clear if the couple would raise the child together. Officials have not publicly released the names of either of the two adults.

On Wednesday it emerged that the mother had told police the baby had "accidentally" slipped into the toilet after she secretly gave birth inside a communal lavatory in the building where she lived in the city of Jinhua.

The woman said she had been forced to conceal her pregnancy after the father, with whom she had had a one-night stand, refused to offer her support.

The baby's mother is reportedly still being investigated by police but the state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday claimed she would "probably not face charges".

"So far, according to the results of the investigation, and her explanation of what happened, we won't charge her with anything," Xiang Jiangsong, a local police official, told the newspaper.

The Associated Press also reported that the mother would not face charges, citing a source as saying that the woman did not initially step forward because she was frightened, and that she gradually had a change of heart and began to tell the truth.

Zheng Yuzheng, the fireman who led the baby's rescue, told The Daily Telegraph his condition had been gradually improving since being rushed to hospital on Saturday afternoon.

"His heartbeat is now normal and the bruises and injuries on his legs have been healing," the fireman said on Wednesday. "The chief nurse told me that at first he would wake up crying every two hours. But since then he has been sleeping fine."

 

[Discovery]

Baby 59: grandparents of newborn found in sewage pipe in China appeal for privacy

The grandparents of Baby 59 – the newborn child who was thrust into the global spotlight last Saturday after being miraculously rescued from a sewage pipe – have appealed for the family to be left in peace.

Firefighters and doctors rescue the abandoned newborn by cutting away a sewage pipe piece by piece Photo: Reuters

Tom Phillips
5:23AM BST 31 May 2013

Baby 59 was reportedly discharged from hospital into the care of his maternal grandparents on Wednesday night, four days after being found trapped in a pipe below a communal lavatory in China's eastern province of Zhejiang.

The grandparents, who have not been named, urged the media and general public to "stop paying excessive attention to the baby" so that he would be able to "grow up in a peaceful environment", according to a report from the state-run China News Service.

The baby's 22-year-old mother was initially expected to face attempted murder charges for supposedly abandoning the baby after secretly giving birth.

But reports on Thursday suggested police had accepted her version that the baby had "accidentally" slipped into the lavatory, becoming lodged in a pipe below.

The mother, whose name has also not been released, is suffering "from a high fever due to postnatal complications and remains in hospital", the state-run Global Times reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, police believe they have now located the father of Baby 59, who was nicknamed after his hospital incubator.

"After a thorough investigation, we are confident, to some extent, that we have found the baby's father. Right now they are undergoing a DNA test. The man has expressed his willingness to raise the baby if their relationship can be confirmed," Xiang Jiangsong, a local police official, told the Global Times.

It is still not clear who will ultimately be given custody of the child or whether the parents, who were reportedly not in a relationship, will attempt to raise Baby 59 together.

Chinese micro-bloggers have been left perplexed by the astonishing reversal in the Baby 59 case, which this week saw the mother transformed almost overnight from villain into victim.

"Why the mother is not investigated?" wondered one baffled user of China's Twitter-like social media site Weibo. "Based on her story alone it cannot be concluded that the baby suddenly slipped down the sewage pipe when she was using the lavatory." Others were more sympathetic, backing the grandparents' call for Baby 59's family to be allowed some privacy.

"The baby was rescued and we should let the mother have a good rest. The media should take a rest too," wrote one micro-blogger under the name "Jianshixian".