The recent rescue of two abandoned newborns - one dumped in a deep pond and the other down a 6m-deep well - in India have been hailed as miraculous by the locals.

A two-day-old baby girl was found floating alive in a pond in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district on Thursday afternoon by a villager who was on his way to his field, the Times of India (TOI) reported.

The man, Mr Vakeel Ahmad, said the baby was found wrapped in a piece of cloth about 5m away from the bank of the neck-deep water. Her head was reportedly cushioned by water hyacinth which also saved her from drowning.

The child was scooped out of the water, covered in hyacinth, as a large curious crowd gathered to see the rescue which was dubbed a “miracle” by the people.

“(She) was possibly thrown in the water by someone who wanted her dead but the almighty saved her life. Water hyacinth saved her despite her remaining in the pond for hours,” said Mr Ahmad.

Police said the girl, who has been given the name “Ganga”, had no injuries and was placed in a foster home as authorities waited for her parents to come forward.

One week before the girl’s rescue, a day-old boy was found dumped at the bottom of a 6m-deep dry well with bruises on the body and swelling on the head in a village in Budaun district, also in the Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.

A couple had been working on their farm on Feb 24 when they heard his cries.

The husband, Mr Prem Raj, 50, said he scaled down the well and saw a snake next to the baby. It slithered away before Mr Prem picked up the newborn and alerted the police.

The villagers believed the child was “miraculously saved by the snake”, the TOI reported.

Dr Ishan Chaudhary, a medical officer at the community health centre, said: “The umbilical cord was intact which suggested that he had just been born a few hours earlier but he somehow managed to brave through the cold night.”

“Chances of his survival are high as his vitals are normal,” he added.

Police said the boy had no major external injury and the swelling on his head may have been caused by his fall.