Two young sisters died of suffocation after becoming trapped inside a parked car while playing in Alwar, Rajasthan, as northern India continues to suffer from a severe heatwave, police said on Thursday.
The tragic incident took place in Khodanpuri area under Vaishali Nagar police station limits, leaving the family and locals in shock.
The accident comes at a time when several parts of northern India are witnessing extremely high temperatures. Alwar recorded around 43 degrees Celsius on Thursday, with a heatwave spreading across Rajasthan and neighboring states.
Read also: Hottest regions in India shut down at 10am as mercury crosses 48°C mark
According to police, the two girls – eight-year-old Tina and five-year-old Lakshmi – went out to play near their house on Wednesday afternoon. While playing, they reportedly arrived at a nearby car service center where the car was parked.
Police said the sisters got into the car while playing, but the doors were accidentally closed, trapping them inside the car in the scorching heat.
The family found the girls unconscious during the search
Station officer, Gurudutt Sharma, said the family and neighbors started searching for the children after they remained missing for a long time.
During the inspection, the girls were found unconscious inside the car parked at the service center.
“They were taken out immediately, but by then the two children had died of suffocation,” the officer said.
The children were taken to hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
The police transferred the bodies to the regional hospital morgue and opened an investigation into the incident.
A car turns into a “thermal room”
As temperatures rose outside, the temperature inside the locked car is thought to have risen sharply, effectively turning the car into a heat chamber within minutes.
A CCTV video of the incident also appeared online, allegedly showing the sisters opening the door of the parked car and climbing inside while playing.
Local media reports also claimed that the children remained trapped inside the car for approximately 30 minutes before they were discovered.
The father was raising his daughters alone
The girls’ father, Ramesh, told police that the family originally belongs to Bidam district and currently lives in a rented house in Khodanpuri.
Family members said the children lost their mother four years ago, and their father has been raising them alone since then.
Relatives told police that the sisters were their father’s only emotional support.
