Newborn Chinese girl miraculously survives after being thrown off a cliff by her father who wants son

A man in south China who was desperate for a son has been detained for throwing his newborn girl off a cliff.

He took the baby, who had only been born for about six hours, from a hospital in Gaozhou, Guangdong province last Friday and placed her in a nylon bag before flinging her into the woods, the Daily Mail reports, citing Chinese media.

However, the girl miraculously survived for 12 hours after landing on some tree branches and was saved by rescuers.

Police were alerted to the incident after a doctor at Magui Health Centre called to report that a newborn girl had gone missing from the hospital, according to Gaozhou Television. 

Following an investigation, officers began to suspect the girl's father, surnamed Li.

The man finally admitted to placing his daughter into a large nylon bag and throwing her off a cliff in a rural area because he had hoped for a son instead, according to the report citing Magui district police. 

Officers immediately led a team of rescuers and volunteers down the steep cliff to search for the baby girl. 

Suddenly, the team heard the faint cries of the baby and were able to locate her about 30 metres (100 feet) down from the edge of the cliff, much to the relief of the rescuers. 

They told reporters that she was found perched on top of several tree branches, which protected her from fatal injuries.

Viral video footage of the incident shows a nurse and a doctor removing the baby from the nylon bag and examining her before taking her to hospital. Fortunately, she did not suffer any serious injuries. 

She is now in good health and under the care of her mother, according to the report. 

Li told officers he was disappointed that his fourth child turned out to be a daughter, having had two girls and a boy. The father said the family was poor and he felt under a lot of financial pressure.

Li has been detained amid ongoing police investigations. 

The incident saw the cruel father widely criticised on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo.