Authorities Locate Mother of Chinese Baby Flushed Down Toilet

The baby found flushed down a toilet and stuck in a drain pipe is recovering in a Chinese hospital after being carefully removed alive Saturday. The mother of the baby -- being called Baby No. 59 -- has been found as well, although details on her are scarce.

In this still image taken from video from Saturday May 25, 2013, rescue workers cut away parts of a sewage pipe where a newborn baby was trapped in Pujiang in east China's Zhejiang province. Chinese firefighters have rescued a newborn boy from a sewer pipe below a squat toilet, sawing out an L-shaped section and then delicately dismantling it to free the trapped baby, who greeted the rescuers with cries. A tenant heard the baby s sounds in the public restroom of a residential building in Zhejiang province in eastern China on Saturday and notified authorities, according to the state-run news site Zhejiang News. A video of the two-hour rescue that followed was broadcast widely on Chinese news programs and websites late Monday and Tuesday. (Image: AP)

According to the Pujiang county police bureau's microblog, the boy's mother was located as part of the investigation, but no further details on her were provided. It was not immediately clear how the baby ended up in the toilet, but police said they are treating the case as an attempted homicide.

The 6.2-pound baby  still had his placenta attached to his body, reports said, suggesting he had just been born. His heart rate was low and there were grazes on his head and limbs, but otherwise he was largely unscathed, according to Zhejiang Online, the province's official news portal.

The landlord of the building in Pujiang county told Zhejiang News that it was unlikely the birth took place in the public restroom of the building. There was no evidence of blood and the landlord was not aware of any recent pregnancies among her tenants.

Since being brought to the hospital, Baby. No. 59 has seen an outpouring of support from strangers donating diapers, baby clothes and powdered milk. There have even been offers to adopt the child.

Despite these offers thought, a doctor at the hospital said the boy would be handed over to social services if his parents did not claim him, Zhejiang News said.

If you missed the original footage of the delicate rescue of the baby, check out the video (Content warning: Some might consider the footage graphic):

See pictures of Baby No. 59 recovering in the hospital here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.