Twin baby girls have died from suspected dehydration in northern France, and their four siblings have been hospitalized with the same condition. The parents of the 15-month-old twins were arrested by authorities on Monday following the girls' deaths in the town of Beuvrages.
The couple's other children, aged three, four, five, and six, were also hospitalized but their conditions are not considered life-threatening. Emergency services were alerted by the parents who discovered the twins unresponsive in their beds, according to local reports.
The mayor of Beuvrages, Ali Ben Yahia, expressed the community's shock, stating that the family is well-integrated and the children attend local schools. He noted that the family had recently moved to a house with the aim of providing a better environment for their children. An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
This incident occurs as France experiences a significant increase in deaths coinciding with a record-breaking heatwave. Public Health France reported over 1,200 deaths on Wednesday of last week, the hottest day on record, with numbers rising to more than 1,400 on Thursday and Friday. This marks an increase from the average daily death rate of 900 to 1,000 in April and May, prior to the heatwave.
The heatwave has been attributed to a mass of hot air from the Sahara, creating a "heat dome" over western and central Europe. On Tuesday, France recorded its highest ever temperature at 44.3 degrees Celsius (111.7 degrees Fahrenheit), with average nighttime temperatures also reaching a record high of around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
Reports of other child fatalities linked to the extreme heat have also surfaced. Last Tuesday, an 18-month-old baby died in Marseille after being left in a car. On Monday, two brothers, aged two and four, died from cardiac arrest in Carpentras after being left in a vehicle, with preliminary autopsies indicating dehydration from excessive heat as the cause.