Baby Found Buried Alive In Cemetery, Survives For A Week Underground

In a story of miraculous survival, a newborn baby boy was found still alive after being buried in a shallow grave eight days before discovery.

The baby boy was unearthed from his shallow grave located in the mountains of Guangxi province in southern China, found by a woman who heard his desperate cries as she collected herbs intended to be used in Chinese medicine. The woman, named Lu Fenglian, believed the location to be haunted and so when she heard the cries, she thought the sounds to be supernatural in nature. She quickly fled to a nearby Buddhist temple for help.

Because Fenglian is a regular volunteer at the Siping Temple, she easily enlisted the help of 75-year-old priest Zhao Shimin, who returned with her to the cemetery. He, too, heard the crying, but knew that it was coming from a real baby rather than a ghost, and that the cries originated from a spot in the cemetery full of unmarked graves. The priest quickly contacted the authorities.

It took police just mere moments to uncover the baby, who was buried in a box just five centimeters beneath the surface. The baby was covered in soil that had leaked through the damp box, which also contained blankets and other items.

The baby also had a cleft lip. The cleft lip is believed to be the reason why the baby was buried alive.

Authorities rushed the baby boy to a nearby hospital, where he received emergency medical treatment. It was reported that he was in extremely poor condition upon arrival and had to be kept in an incubator for several days.

As doctors cleaned the baby of the dirt and grime encrusted on his tiny body, he began to cough up a thick black substance that doctors say was soil that the baby had ingested while being underground.

It is estimated that the baby survived his shallow grave for a shocking eight days before being found. Sources indicate that the baby was able to survive because rainwater that seeped into the box provided the infant with sufficient water.

The baby has now recovered enough to be removed from the incubator, although he remains hospitalized.

Priest Zhao, who noted that many people choose the cemetery where the baby was found because of its good Feng Shui, said, “The baby was buried among numerous unmarked graves and was still found alive, so he must be blessed.”

Authorities have tracked down the baby’s parents, who are a young couple living in a nearby village. Although the Public Security Bureau has arrested several people in connection with the baby being buried alive, including the newborn’s grandmother and three other relatives, it is reported that the parents themselves have yet to be arrested, due to a lack of evidence.

Another newborn in China survived being buried alive, but her story is much different than this little boy’s. For more on that, click here.

[Image via China Photos / Getty Images]