The mother of a newborn baby boy who had to be rescued from a sewage pipe has been identified and claims the incident was an accident.
The two-day-old baby boy was found stuck head first in a 10cm diameter pipe beneath a squat toilet in Jinhua City, eastern China, on Saturday.
He was saved by fire crews who sawed through the section of pipe and then used pliers and saws to tear it open.
The little boy suffered some cuts during the rescue and is being cared for in hospital
Police say his 22-year-old, unmarried mother, had kept her pregnancy secret and gave birth unexpectedly, AFP reports.
“Our investigations showed it was an accident,” a police officer told the news agency, before confirming the unnamed mother would not be prosecuted.
Earlier, various outlets had claimed she could face charges of attempted murder amid ongoing investigations.
According to Zhejiang News, the mother claimed the baby slipped into the sewage pipe and that she informed her landlord when she was unable to pull the child out.
The baby greeted his rescuers with cries
State-run newspaper Dushikuaibao reports the woman was present for the rescue but did not identify herself until she was confronted by police who grew suspicious after finding baby toys and blood-stained tissues in her rented room.
Meanwhile the baby – named baby 59 after his hospital incubator - is believed to be in a stable condition, having suffered some cuts to his face and limbs.
His rescue prompted an outpouring of well-wishers donating nappies, clothes, powdered milk and offers to adopt him.
The baby was believed to be two days old at the time of his rescue on Saturday
As yet it is unknown who will care for the child once he is discharged from hospital.
The South China Morning Press points out Chinese babies born out of wedlock are sometimes abandoned because of social and financial pressures.
The country's one-child policy can also spell heavy fines for those who have more than one baby.