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Baby found alive after being buried for three days by its mother


A baby boy was rescued from a makeshift grave three days at a farm after being buried alive by the mother who left him to die.

Workers at the a nearby timber factory in the town of Paddock, South Africa, heard cries and followed the sound to a grave made of sand and timber, the South Coast Herald reported.

When the baby was found on Easter Monday, the mother, 25, came forward and admitted that she had tried to kill her baby because she was scared of her parents’ reaction to her having a second child.

Police spokesman Captain Gerald Mfeka said staff at the timber factory where the mother is employed heard the baby crying.

CHILD ABANDONMENT

“They searched and found him hidden underneath some timber, covered in sand. On hearing the commotion, the mother confessed that the child was hers. Her explanation was that she was afraid of her parents. This was her second child, the elder one being four years old, and she felt her parents would not approve of another baby,” said Captain Mfeka.

The baby was taken to the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital where he was admitted to ICU. The mother was also taken to hospital and released. There is no news on whether the mother will be reunited with the baby.

Port Shepstone Regional Hospital spokesman Phumza Morai said on Thursday that hospital staff and doctors had stabilised the baby.

“He is now in a stable condition but still receiving treatment,” said Ms Morai.

The mother appeared in the Izingolweni court on Wednesday, where she was charged with child abandonment. The case was postponed for further investigation.