Newborn Baby Found In Garbage Dump With Umbilical Cord Still Attached

A newborn baby in India was found abandoned in a sack with a colony of ants all over him, local media reported Thursday.

The incident took place in Bareilly, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. A resident of the locality heard a baby crying on June 11, and found the infant inside a garbage dump. The baby still had his umbilical cord attached.

The man took the baby to his house and informed the police, who then took the newborn to a hospital. Doctors said it was a “miracle” the baby survived after “almost being eaten alive by ants,” The Times of India reported. The baby was later moved to a different hospital as he was facing breathing issues.

Nearby CCTV footage reportedly showed an unidentified elderly woman leaving the baby in the garbage dump. The police then began an investigation, and started a search for the woman.

“The baby was prematurely born and has some breathing issues. We have admitted him to a private hospital to ensure best possible treatment. We have reported this issue to the police, and efforts are on to locate his parents. The act of the woman in the video endangered the life of the child, and we will take appropriate acton against her as per the law,” Dinesh Chandra, chairman of Child Welfare Committee, said, according to The Times of India.

A senior police officer said the “woman had put the baby’s life at risk,” the Jagran reported [Google Translate showed].

The police said they have circulated the pictures of the woman, and urged the public to help find her. Authorities also said preliminary investigation revealed the baby was born to an unmarried couple, and the child's mother had dumped the child.

An investigation was currently underway into the incident.

Last year, in the northern state of Punjab, the body of a newborn baby with her umbilical cord still attached was found floating in a canal. Divers retrieved the body after someone spotted the child. The unresponsive baby was immediately rushed to a local hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Authorities immediately launched an investigation into the girl child's death. The police said, at the time, an unidentified person threw the newborn into the Bhakra Canal right after birth.