Chinese Baby Flushed Down Toilet, Rescued From Sewage Pipe(Photo)

A newborn baby in China flushed down a toilet by his parents was rescued from a sewage pipe in the eastern province of Zhejiang after neighbors heard cries emanating from plumbing alerting them to the infant’s plight.

Residents of the apartment block in Jinhua heard the baby crying after he was flushed down a fourth floor squat toilet and called police.

Attempts to pull the five pound, two day old baby boy from the toilet directly were unsuccessful, and rescuers were forced to resort to sawing apart the piping piece by piece resulting in the infant’s dramatic rescue. The intact pipe was brought to a hospital, where surgeons and emergency workers collaborated to free the baby.

When he was finally freed from the sewage pipe, the Chinese baby flushed down the toilet in Jinhau was discovered to still have his placenta and umbilical cord attached.

In China, the baby’s narrowly avoided fate has sparked intense outcry against his parents. Australian news sources report that the infant’s 22-year-old mother was on scene for the rescue and delivered the baby unexpectedly while using the bathroom.

A police officer said after the rescue of the newborn flushed down the toilet:

“Fortunately the baby survived. But the [parents] still suspected of attempted murder.”