An abandoned baby rescued from a sewage pipe by firefighters in eastern China is in a stable condition, local media as said on Wednesday (May 29), in a case which has triggered uproar across the country.

The infant was found in the sewage pipe in a residential building in Jinhua in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang on Saturday afternoon (May 26) at around 1700 local time (0900GMT), after residents reported the sound of a baby crying, state television said.

Firefighters had to remove the pipe and take it to a nearby hospital, where doctors carefully cut around it to rescue the baby inside, the report said.

The 2.3-kilogram baby is in an incubator, receiving treatment at a local hospital, Xinhua cited local media as saying.

A preliminary medical examination showed that the baby is healthy apart from scratches on his head, arms and legs, the report said.

There are frequent reports in Chinese media of babies being abandoned, often shortly after birth, a problem attributed to factors such as young mothers unaware they were pregnant, the birth of an unwanted girl in a society which puts greater value on boys or China's strict family planning rules.

Presented by Adam Justice