A toddler has died after being “forgotten” inside a car in Spain as the country is gripped by a horror heatwave affecting southern Europe.
The boy, believed to be aged around two, was left inside his dad’s car on an industrial estate in the Costa Dorada town of Valls near the east coast city of Tarragona.
The alarm was raised around 3pm on Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters were the first to reach the vehicle and found the youngster’s dad beside the youngster with the door already open.
They tried to revive him with help from emergency medical responders who arrived soon after and practiced CPR on the little boy when they discovered he had gone into cardiac arrest.
Efforts to save his life proved unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was not immediately clear if any arrests have been made.
Detectives are working on the theory the child died from heat exhaustion and dehydration after being left in the vehicle he was found unresponsive in by mistake.
In previous cases the relative responsible has been arrested and charged with manslaughter.
Psychologists have been mobilised to provide the family of the youngster with counselling.
More than 100 deaths since Saturday have been linked to Spain’s first summer heatwave.
Temperatures around 3pm on Tuesday afternoon in Valls surpassed the 35 degree Celsius mark.