Baby girl found alive in old well in Jordan

Dubai: A one-and-a-half-month old baby girl was found alive in an old well in Irbid, northern Jordan, local media reported.

The infant was found by a group of holidaymakers who were camping in a place close to the well when they heard a baby crying. They managed to retrieve the girl from the hole and called police. They found the baby wrapped in clothes and dumped in the well.

The baby was taken by police and transferred to hospital before being given to a childcare house. The baby is in a stable condition.

The infant, believed be born out of a wedlock, was allegedly dumped in the old dry well by her mother to spare herself the social stigma as she was engaged in an illicit relationship.

In Jordan, infants found dumped in streets, or in front of mosques or abandoned in desert areas, are called children of unknown parents. They are given special care at childcare houses.