Doctors interact with Xiao at the hospital. (Screen grab: CCTV News app)

A mother of eight children chained to a hut in a village of Xuzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, has been identified to be a missing person reported in southeast China, Xuzhou authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

A video has recently gone viral on social media, saying the woman who had shown an abnormal conduct were chained to a hut wearing thin clothes in freezing weather. The video soon angered the Chinese public who is demanding help for the woman and an investigation into the case.

According to the latest announcement by the local investigation team, the woman surnamed Yang has been identified as Xiaohuamei from Yagu village in Yunnan Province according to DNA test and local investigations.

DNA tests between Yang and Xiaohuamei's half-sister and the remains of her deceased mother determined the result.

Her husband, 55-year-old Dong, was suspected of illegal detention. A couple who was believed related to trafficking Xiaohuamei, surnamed Sang and Shi, were suspected of abducting and trafficking women. The three have been taken into criminal compulsory measures, said the statement.

The statement said the county government has provided the Yang family with living allowances.

The education department will implement a financial aid policy in accordance with laws and regulations, and protect her children's right to education.

The guardianship of the eight minor children will also be determined in accordance with the law, the statement said.