(CNN) — The dramatic rescue began after cries were heard from a fourth-floor apartment toilet.
Alarmed neighbors heard the sounds and saw a tiny foot inside a ceramic bowl. There was a baby inside.
They called the fire department in the Chinese city of Jinhua, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Unable to pull the infant out out, rescuers went to the floor below and sawed away an entire section of a sewer pipe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2woT34CYc
But still, the baby was stuck, so both the section of pipe and the infant were taken to a local hospital.
Working together, rescuers and doctors began removing the pipe, piece by piece, as shown in video from CCTV.
It shows the exact moment hands in white gloves gingerly pulled away a part of the pipe, revealing the tiny face of a newborn.
The afterbirth was still attached.
CCTV reported the infant, a baby boy, was rescued Saturday. He is in stable condition.
No one has come forward yet to claim the child, and police say they are looking for his parents.
Jinhua police issued an appeal on the social media website Weibo.
“Mom, come back! The baby is resilient and alive. Please show up, Mom. This is your own baby and he should return to your warm embrace soon.”
