Durban - A baby boy was pulled alive from a shallow grave three days after he was left to die by his mother.
The baby was found in the town of Paddock, in KwaZulu-Natal, after staff at the timber factory where his mother worked heard him crying.
The 25-year-old mother had made a makeshift grave of sand and timber taken from the factory after fearing her parents would be upset about her having a second child.
When the baby was found she admitted to police what she had done.
Captain Gerald Mfeka said: “They searched and found him hidden underneath some timber, covered in sand. On hearing the commotion, the mother confessed the child was hers.
“Her explanation was that she was afraid of her parents. This was her second child and she felt her parents would not approve.”
The baby was placed in an intensive care unit at the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital.
His mother was reportedly also taken there, though it was not clear why.
She was released from the hospital and it was not reported what
charges she faces or whether she will be reunited with her baby.