An 18-month-old infant has died in a Marseille hospital after being found suffering from hyperthermia in an overheated car on Tuesday.
The child was rushed to the paediatric unit at Timone University Hospital in critical condition and ultimately died. The death, announced Friday, marks the fourth such tragedy in France this week amid a severe heatwave.
Temperatures in Marseille reached 33°C (91°F) on Tuesday. The Bouches-du-Rhône département was under an orange heatwave alert.
"It is with deep sadness that we learned of the tragic incident," said Éric Berton, president of Aix-Marseille University, which operates the hospital campus.
An investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor's office. Media reports suggest the child's parent may have forgotten the infant in the car while going to work on campus.
This follows three other child deaths this week:
- A three-year-old died in Saint-Gratien, near Paris, on Thursday after becoming trapped in a family car.
- The bodies of two children, aged two and four, were found in a car in Carpentras on Monday.