Police in Cyprus are investigating the deaths of two boys, aged 8 and 10, on Sunday evening in a village in the south-eastern part of the country, who are reported to be from Bulgaria. An investigation is underway to clarify the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, which has shocked the village and shaken the country.
The two children were found in a parked, locked car in front of their father's house in the village of Xylofagou. They were spotted after 6pm on Sunday by a neighbour who alerted authorities. An ambulance and members of the police of the British air force base "Dhekeliya", under whose jurisdiction the village is, responded immediately, but the boys were pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to information from the village leader, the brothers had recently arrived from Bulgaria to spend the summer holidays with their father, who lives in the village with his wife.
A spokesman for the British base said that an intensive investigation into the causes of the tragedy was underway. Statements are being taken to clarify the circumstances under which the children ended up in the car, but there are no official statements yet.
Initial data point to the possibility of suffocation due to high temperatures, but forensic examinations are expected to establish the exact causes of death.
The father and his wife were at work at the time of the tragedy. They have been arrested on suspicion of alleged parental negligence.