ABANDONED NEWLY BORN

[Anchor Lead]

A newborn baby with its umbilical cord still attached was discovered abandoned in a rural village in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. The baby was covered in all sorts of filth and insect bites, but is now recovering quickly, thanks to the tender care of old ladies of the village and the prompt treatment by the medical staff.

[Pkg]

​A nurse quickly takes a baby wrapped in a blanket from an ambulance. She rushes into the hospital and, without waiting for an elevator, runs up the stairs to the neonatal care unit on the third floor.

[Soundbite] KIM MYEONG-OK(NURSE) : "I prayed that the baby would be okay. Then I heard a little cry. I think I ran like that because I'm a mother."

This newborn was discovered yesterday morning, abandoned in a shed at a village in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Estimated to be only about two days old, the baby's umbilical cord was still attached. When an old lady passing by found the baby, the newborn was covered in filth and had insect bites all over the body.

[Soundbite] KIM SEONG-JA(LOCAL RESIDENT) : "There were flies everywhere and the baby was covered in filth, so there would naturally be mosquito bites."

The villagers took the baby to the senior center to give a warm bath and some tender loving care.

[Soundbite] (OLD LADIES OF THE VILLAGE) : "I checked to see if the baby was dead, but then the baby's eyes opened. So the two of us gave a bath in a basin. (I brought milk to feed the baby after the bath.)"

Emergency responders rushed to the scene and transported the baby to a general hospital in about an hour and 40 minutes.

[Soundbite] BAE GYU-MIN(HANMAEUM CHANGWON HOSPITAL) : "The newborn has lots of insect bites and some infection around the umbilical cord. So the baby was put in an incubator and is receiving oxygen, nutritional supplements, and antibiotic treatment."

The newborn is recovering well, thanks to the seniors' quick actions. Meanwhile, the police are checking the surveillance tapes in the village to find out who abandoned the baby.