Cristina Hodgson
A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy from Malaga has died after being found unresponsive in a hot car outside his family’s home, authorities said.
The tragedy occurred over the weekend when the child was admitted to the Maternal and Child hospital in the capital on Saturday, August 28 and passed away on Sunday.
According to official sources, it is believed that the child spent more than an hour hiding inside a car, whilst playing hide-and-seek with his siblings, on a day when temperatures soared over 39ºC in some parts of the province.
Unable to find their brother, the siblings alerted their parents who finally found the child, unresponsive, inside the family car. Despite being rushed to hospital, the child died the following day.
Policia Nacional officers have taken charge of investigations and the result of a post-mortem is awaited.
Health experts have warned that once babies and children become trapped inside cars, the minors face temperatures that quickly soar to lethal levels and recommend parents to keep their vehicles locked at all times, to never leave car keys within reach of children, and teach children to honk the horn if they become trapped or unwell inside a car.
A child’s body heats up far faster than an adult’s and it can take as little as 15 minutes in an overheated car for a child to suffer life-threatening brain or kidney injuries.
When body temperature reaches 40ºC, internal organs shut down. At 42ºC, children die.
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