Newborn With Umbilical Cord Attached Found Abandoned In Washing Machine Outside Shop

A newborn baby with its umbilical cord attached was rescued after it was found abandoned in a washing machine. The infant was found inside a coin-operated washing machine outside a shop in Krabi, southern Thailand, on Monday.

Sangduen Khaorueng, the shop owner, said she had closed the store Friday before returning Monday when she heard the baby crying. Though she initially ignored it assuming it was from a neighbor’s house, she later checked and was shocked to see the baby inside the machine. She said the baby was wrapped up in a towel and was at the bottom of the machine.

''I went away on Friday to the provinces to do business and the shop here was closed all weekend. When I returned I could hear crying. I thought it was a from a neighbor’s house so I didn’t do anything. But the crying continued after I had been outside and came back. I followed the noise and saw the baby inside the washing machine. I called the police immediately,” Khaorueng said, Yahoo reported.

Police and emergency personnel arrived at the scene and declared the baby “healthy.” They, however, said the baby was ''very hungry''. Though the umbilical cord was attached, officials believed the infant was about five days old.

''We believe the baby is about five days old. He was in good physical condition but was very hungry. A resident prepared a bottle of milk for him. It is fortunate that he was crying or nobody would have found him,” a police officer said, adding the baby was at a hospital and was being cared for by the nurses.

Police were searching for the boy’s mother. The baby would be sent to an orphanage if the mother wasn’t traced.

"My team will check CCTV from the street to try and find the mother. If the baby cannot be returned to the family he will be brought up in an orphanage and offered for adoption," the police officer said.

The incident comes a few days after a newborn baby was found abandoned near trash bins in Bangkok, Thailand. A sanitation worker found the baby with its umbilical cord attached wrapped in a towel. He immediately informed the police, who reached the scene and took the baby to a hospital. Police said though the boy was alive, he was bitten by mosquitoes and insects, the Thaiger reported.