An 84-year-old man was discovered deceased inside a minibus in Tomares, near Seville, Spain, as temperatures climbed to 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Spanish Civil Guard officers are investigating the incident, with all possibilities currently being considered.
The vehicle is believed to have been adapted for transporting elderly individuals and may have belonged to a local retirement home. Authorities are collecting witness statements and awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination to determine if negligence occurred and if any arrests are warranted.
Initial reports suggest the man may have been inside the bus for several hours before he was found on Friday. Heat exhaustion is being considered a potential cause of death, according to initial emergency calls.
This incident occurs amidst a summer marked by several heat-related deaths involving individuals left in vehicles across Europe. In June, two young children died after being found in a car in Carpentras, France, during a heatwave that saw temperatures reach 40C. In July, an 18-month-old toddler died after being left for seven hours in a nursery transport vehicle in Almada, Portugal, where temperatures were around 30C. Last year, a three-year-old boy died in Linares, Spain, after being found trapped in a parked car in high temperatures.
The post-mortem examination for the 84-year-old man is scheduled to take place at Seville's Forensic Medicine Institute.