An old man was detained in Chongqing Municipality yesterday after he allegedly put a one-year-old girl under a moving train and her legs were cut off by the wheels, Chongqing Times reported today.

The report said no one can explain why the man did this.

The man was said to have put the girl in a bamboo-made basket on his back and lingered around train tracks for some time with an old woman at the city's Beibei station around 10?AM yesterday.

He allegedly untied the basket and put it on the track when he saw a train approaching, the report said.

The baby was said to have cried fiercely as the basket was sliced in half, the report said.

Nearby people heard the cry and turned the old man in to police, the report said.

An ambulance rushed to the scene and sent the baby to a hospital, the report said.

Doctors at the hospital said they had to cut the girl's legs below her knees to save her life, the report said.

The girl is now suffering from a high fever, but in stable condition, the report said.

(Shanghai Daily February 25, 2008)