A newborn baby girl was rescued from a storm drain by emergency workers in South Africa after a grueling four-hour operation.
Authorities said they were called when residents heard a baby crying from deep within a concrete storm drain in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), on the eastern coast of South Africa, on Feb. 11, The Associated Press reported.
Infant ‘Dumped’ Down Drain
Rescuers believe the newborn girl was washed 10 to 15 feet down the drain after being “dumped,” according to ABC.Rescue Care Paramedics, one of the groups that helped to extricate the infant said it is unclear why the baby was thrown into the storm drain and that police were investigating.
KMZ Emergency Medical Services spokesman Robert McKenzie told Eyewitness News, “It’s good news for the ending of this rescue today. We would like to congratulate the rescue personnel and paramedics who worked together to rescue this little girl today. The community was very helpful and supportive, which we are also grateful for.”
Dramatic Rescue
After arriving at the scene, emergency responders located the pipe the baby was in, Fox News reported, before digging deep into the opening.Crews secured the walls of the opening by placing vertical supports along the walls and what appeared to be hydraulic braces, according to a Rescue Care photo published by Eyewitness News.
Witnesses cited by Fox News reportedly observed residents bringing pieces of wood they had ripped from kitchen cabinets in order to support the hole and prevent the sides from caving in.
Rescuers used a chisel and hammer to break into the pipe and rescue the infant. Video from the scene shows the emotional moment that the baby was unearthed from the drain as onlookers cheered.
Baby Rescue During Suicide Standoff
Intense footage of officers rescuing a baby from a car during a standoff with a suicidal armed man has been released by Arkansas police.Little Rock Police Department released the dashcam footage on Dec. 28, showing the tense moments as they talked down a suicidal father and rescued his 1-year-old baby from the passenger seat.
Farris Deloney, 43, had fired shots following an argument with the mother and had driven off with their daughter, sparking a police pursuit that culminated in the standoff on Dec. 19.
The video shows a female officer climbing into the passenger seat mid-standoff, as officers tell Deloney, “Don’t do it!” The officer emerges a few seconds later with the baby dressed in pink.
Local reports said that the incident lasted two hours in total—from the time the shots were fired in the parking lot to Deloney’s arrest. The standoff lasted one hour, according to Arkansas Online.
In the video, the officers can be heard pleading with the man not to take his life, encouraging him to think of his daughter, who they call Olivia, and how she will need her father.
Eventually, Deloney gives in, backing out of the car and slowly walking backward toward the officers under their instruction with his hands in the air.
“The subject was later transported to an area hospital for a medical evaluation,” the statement said.
