SHE THOUGHT SHE’D ONLY BE GONE A MOMENT..! – Two young brothers, aged just two and four, tragically l0st their lives after being left inside a family car during France’s extreme heatwave, with reports claiming their mother forgot they were still inside while shopping.
Mother of boys, two and four, found dead in family car amid France’s heatwave ‘forgot about kids while out shopping’
The mother of two children who were found dead in their family’s car ‘forgot’ about her boys ‘while out shopping’ during France’s heatwave, it has been claimed.
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The children, aged two and four, died as temperatures in France surged to nearly 39C amid an unprecedented heatwave.
They were found lifeless in a car parked in their grandmother’s garden in the French town of Carpentras, south eastern France, on Monday.
Their 33-year-old mum had “forgotten her children” while out shopping, a police source told Le Parisien.
Emergency services have since taken her into care, the source added, while a manslaughter investigation has been launched by the Carpentras public prosecutor’s office.
Autopsies will be performed on the bodies of the two young boys on Wednesday as officials work to determine the causes and circumstances of their deaths, which remain unclear.
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“The causes of death are yet to be determined, but the heat is the leading line of inquiry,” Carpentras prosecutor Hélène Mourges, said.
Residents say the mother had recently moved to the neighbourhood to live with her parents. They say her youngest child was signed up to the neighbourhood daycare programme. “Some say the children were playing hide-and-seek, others that they were coming back from shopping.“In any case, it’s terrifying. With this heat, parents really need to be vigilant, focused, and put their phones away, otherwise there will be more tragedies,” one local said.
The children’s deaths come three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, died near Bordeaux over the weekend amid the extreme heat.
40 others have drowned in open water as France grapples with the unprecedented heatwave sweeping the nation.
Highs of more than 40C are expected through the week in France, with emergency services and military forces have been put on wildfire alert.Public alcohol consumption restrictions have been put in place by French authorities and some outdoor sporting events cancelled.
Temperature records have been smashed in multiple cities, including Bordeaux and Poitiers, with power grids and public services severely impacted.
The national weather service has put 54 areas of the country, which does not have widespread air conditioning, under a rare red alert as schools shut early or changed timetables to keep students safe. A similar situation is happening across the UK as the scorching heat sweeps across Europe.
According to the Met Office, the sweltering heat could last until at least Thursday, sparking weather warnings and concerns for vulnerable people.
Forecasters have said there is “growing confidence” this week could break the record for the hottest June temperature of 35.6C, which was set in 1976 in Southampton.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned people to expect significant impacts across health and social care services along with a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
