Two Bulgarian children were found dead in a car in the village of Xylofagu in Cyprus. The tragedy took place on Saturday evening in the settlement in the Famagusta district, which falls under the jurisdiction of the British military base “Dhekelia“. The victims are a brother and sister, 8 and 10 years old, who arrived from Bulgaria to spend their summer vacation with their father, NOVA reported.
According to information from the mayor of Xylofagu, Georgios Iulianos, on Saturday morning, the father and his partner left for work. It is assumed that the children then got into a car parked nearby and, for reasons still unclear, remained locked in it. The car was left outdoors, near a housing estate.
The report of the two unconscious children was filed with the police at the British base shortly after 6 p.m. Police and medical teams were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Upon arrival, medics found signs of rigor mortis on the bodies, indicating that death had occurred hours before they were discovered. The children's skin also showed superficial burns caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures in the closed car.
The two children were transported to hospital, where doctors only declared them dead. According to initial reports, the cause was suffocation and heatstroke due to the extreme temperature in the passenger compartment. A forensic examination and autopsy are pending to determine the exact cause of death.
Following the incident, the children's father and his partner were arrested on suspicion of criminal negligence causing death. Investigators are interviewing witnesses and relatives to clarify the exact sequence of events and how the children ended up locked in the car.