Two young brothers died from cardiac arrest after being left in a car during a severe heatwave in southern France, according to local reports. Four-year-old Kassim Benouali and his two-year-old brother Sadek were found unresponsive in their mother's vehicle on Monday. The car was parked in direct sunlight on the driveway of their grandmother's home in Carpentras.
The boys' mother, Wafa El Boubkari, 33, discovered their bodies and alerted neighbors. The incident occurred as temperatures soared across France, with some areas registering record highs. Investigators are looking into the circumstances surrounding the children's deaths, and Ms. El Boubkari faces charges of unintentional manslaughter.
According to the children's grandmother, Fatiha, Ms. El Boubkari had taken the boys swimming to cool off and then to a supermarket for shopping before returning home. She stated that the children were left in the car while Ms. El Boubkari unpacked groceries, and that she got busy and forgot about them. Fatiha described the event as a "genuine mistake" and a "tragedy" exacerbated by the extreme heat, which made it difficult for everyone to concentrate.
However, the grandmother's account appears to differ from initial statements attributed to Ms. El Boubkari, who reportedly told police that the children climbed into the back of the car without her knowledge and that the vehicle locked automatically. She stated she was inside the house attending to chores at the time.
Ms. El Boubkari, who has two other children under ten, reportedly moved into her mother's home with her four children about six months prior due to marital problems. Friends and family have suggested she was under significant emotional pressure and may have been distracted by personal difficulties.
Preliminary postmortem examinations indicated that the boys died from dehydration due to exposure to excessive heat. Investigators estimate the temperature inside the car, which had no air conditioning, could have reached as high as 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) when the outside temperature was 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).
The boys' funeral was held on Friday. Ms. El Boubkari was hospitalized for shock following the incident. Colleagues at the patisserie where she has worked for approximately five years expressed their condolences and described her as a hardworking and good mother.
This incident occurred as France experienced record-breaking temperatures. On Tuesday, the country registered its hottest day on record at 44.3 degrees Celsius (111.7 degrees Fahrenheit), with nighttime temperatures also reaching new highs. The intense heatwave led to the temporary closure of some Parisian landmarks and reports of numerous drownings in unsupervised swimming areas.
Several other child deaths in similar circumstances were reported in France during the heatwave. In Saint-Gratien, north of Paris, a three-year-old child died after being locked in a car. Another infant died in a car at the Aix-Marseille University medical campus.