A 4-year-old girl was found dead in a car after her parents left her inside with the doors locked to attend a funeral.
The little girl, identified only as Sadia, was sleeping when her parents left her in the car and went to attend the funeral service of her aunt in Ramhormoz, Iran, where temperatures outside reached 49C.
The child was trapped in the vehicle while the temperature rose to 79C inside - which is hot enough to roast a chicken, the Mirror reported.
Sadia was found unresponsive when her parents came to check on her.
Medics confirmed the child died because of stress, heat stroke, and lack of oxygen.
"A young couple left their four-year-old child sleeping in a car when they went to mourn the little girl's aunt," the head of Ramhormoz's forensics department Dr. Gholamreza Haidarnejad said.
"The parents who decided not to wake the child then forgot her because of their distress during the funeral."
"The child was left in the car for several hours in hot, sunny weather and the car doors were locked," the doctor said.
Sadia’s devastated parents are receiving counseling after the tragedy.
The local police are investigating the fatal accident.
A similar incident was reported in Houston, Texas, where a 5-year-old boy reportedly died after his mother left him alone inside a hot car for hours while she prepared for her daughter's birthday party on Monday, June 20.
The child was reportedly strapped to a safety seat in the back seat of the car.
After reaching home, the mother exited the car with her 8-year-old daughter and entered the house in a rush, assuming that the toddler got out behind her since he knows how to unbuckle himself. However, the mother forgot that it was a rental vehicle.
Unfortunately, the boy, whose identity has been withheld from the public, was left in the car for two or three hours while his family was making preparations to celebrate the older sibling’s birthday party.
"This time the child didn't make it out and again with the business of the activities that they were preparing for, it took a while for them to notice that the child wasn't in the house," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
When the mother looked around the residence and realized that her son was missing, she then ran to the car and saw that the toddler was still in the safety seat of the car in the hot sun. The child was unfortunately pronounced dead at the scene.
"The door did not have any kind of child safety lock enacted or anything like that," Gonzales said.
It is unclear if the mother will face charges following the careless accident. Meanwhile, a representative with the sheriff’s office said that an investigation is ongoing and that police will meet with county prosecutors to present the findings.
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