Hot car death: Three siblings trapped, suffocate in Nigerian’s north central city

Three siblings from the same parent, consisting of a boy and two girls, tragically died on Sunday  in Ilorin, Nigeria’s north central city, due to suffocation inside a parked car at their home in the capital of Kwara.

Incidents such as this, known as hot car deaths, is gradually becoming a major source of concern in urban areas, globally.

Their mother, Shade Silifat, had gone out to purchase indomie, a favoured noodle variety, for their school lunches on Monday, but upon returning, she found her children unconscious in the car.

She fainted, herself, it was reported.

The incident took place at No 8, Boluke Line, Zango-Kulende quarters in Ilorin, around 2p.m. The children had locked themselves inside the car, which was borrowed by their father from his sister.

Shade noticed their shoes outside the car and raised an alarm before managing to open the car doors.

The children were rushed to Olutayo Clinic nearby for medical help, but the doctor there advised transferring them to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The three siblings were laid to rest in a Muslim cemetery in accordance with Islamic customs.

Hot car deaths is a major cause of deaths in most cities.

Around 40 children lose their lives to hot car deaths each year, in the US either because they are left inside the vehicle or get stuck, according to US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On average, this means a child dies in a hot car every 10 days in the United States.

Although these tragic incidents occur more often during the summer months, they can happen at any time throughout the year.

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