Girl, 2, dies after being left in car as extreme heat sweeps Spain

A two-year-old girl died of heatstroke in Brion, north-west Spain, after several hours inside her father’s car during an unseasonably hot spell. The father drove his older child to school and intended to drop the toddler at nursery, but was distracted by a phone call and went to work, leaving her in the vehicle. The alarm was raised when the mother went to pick her up at 3pm and learned she had not been dropped off. Emergency services were called, and the girl was taken to a nearby health centre in Bertamirans, where she was pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest. Police are investigating, and the family is receiving psychological support. Local officials declared mourning and held a minute’s silence. Meteorological warnings indicated temperatures could reach 36–38C in parts of Spain after a prolonged period of below-normal temperatures.

"The child, who has not been named, went into cardiac arrest on Wednesday afternoon after spending several hours inside the vehicle in the Galician town of Brion after her father forgot to take her to nursery. According to media reports, the man had driven his older child to school that morning and had intended to drop the toddler at nursery when he was distracted by a phone call. Instead of heading to the nursery, he went to work, leaving the child in the car."

"The alarm was raised that afternoon when the girl's mother went to pick her up from the nursery at 3pm and was told she had not been dropped off that morning. Realising what had happened, the parents called the emergency services and the girl was taken to a health centre in the nearby town of Bertamirans, where she was pronounced dead. Police are investigating the incident and the family is receiving psychological support."

"Spain has been bracing for the kind of heat more commonly associated with midsummer. The state meteorological office, Aemet, warned that the exceptionally high temperatures could reach 36-38C in some southern parts of the country. Throughout May, we have recorded a prolonged period of below-normal temperatures, it said. Now comes the complete opposite: a period of very high temperatures for this time of year across most of the country."

"Brion town council declared two days of official morning for the girl and said a minute's silence would be held in her memory on Friday. We would like to offer our deepest condolences and all our support to the family of the little girl who lost her life in Brion yesterday, as well as to all her friends, while we make all the municipal resources they need available to them in these difficult times, the council said. May she rest in peace."

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