Moment newborn baby is unearthed from shallow grave alive
Incredible images have captured the moment a newborn boy was found buried alive in a remote location in August.
On August 21, a couple were walking and picking mushrooms in a rural part of Jinan in East China when they heard a cry, according to South China Morning Post.
The couple initially believed the noise was an injured animal and noticed it was coming from an area where soil had recently been moved.
Under the soil was a cement slab, which covered a pit.
The couple quickly identified the cry as human, called the police and alerted locals.
The baby stopped crying before police could arrive, so the couple and other locals decided to rescue the child by removing the slab.
The boy, who had been buried in a cardboard box, was then taken to hospital.
The South China Post reports the child was probably buried for about three hours, according to doctors.
He had no major problems upon further examination except for jaundice and anaemia.
Soon after, news of the abandoned baby made headlines in China and a TV bulletin lead a man to surrender himself to police.
The man, aged in his 50s, told local police he was the newborn’s grandfather, the Shandong Business Daily reported, according to China Daily.
The grandfather said the child was the younger of a set of twins and had been diagnosed with multiple diseases, while his older brother was perfectly healthy. The family decided to forgo medical treatment.
After the newborn appeared to have died at home, the family held a burial ceremony. It wasn’t until the grandfather saw the news he realised the “truth” and decided to turn himself in.
While the baby has yet to be named, he is being taken care of by a rural doctor, who has already paid over $8,200 for the boy’s medical treatment, the Jinan Times said, according to China Daily.
The South China Daily Post reported the baby is doing well - having gained weight since being found, although he remains on an incubator.
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