Newborn baby with plastic bag on its head recovered from cesspit

A newborn baby has been rescued after being found in a cesspit beneath a public toilet in north-western Tajikistan with a plastic bag covering its head.

It has been speculated that the mother wrapped the baby's face in the plastic bag so that nobody would be able to hear it crying.

Fortunately a local resident using the toilets in Khujand, the country's second-largest city, spotted the baby and called for help.

The baby luckily did not drown in the cesspit, as there were two openings - a small one for liquid waste and a larger one for solid waste.

The baby was recovered from the larger opening.

Footage obtained by Central European News and published by the Daily Mail shows the baby's dramatic rescue.

Two men using large metal poles were able to pull the baby from the cesspit.

The baby starts to cry immediately after the plastic is pulled from its face.

The sex of the baby, its condition, when the recovery occurred and whether the mother has been identified are not known at this point.