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Jakarta Post

Toddler siblings burn to death in abandoned car in North Sumatra

Two toddlers were reportedly playing inside an abandoned car in a neighbor's garage when a fire broke out.

Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post)
Medan
Wed, March 20, 2019

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Toddler siblings burn to death in abandoned car in North Sumatra Two toddlers were reportedly playing inside an abandoned car in a neighbor's garage when a fire broke out. (Shutterstock.com/File)

T

wo toddler sisters – a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old – burned to death in an abandoned car parked in a neighbor’s garage in Silau Barat subdistrict, Asahan regency, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at about 9 a.m. local time, according to Perapat Janji Police precinct chief Adj. Comr. Nasib Manurung. The two were allegedly playing inside the car not long before the fire started. The source of the fire was not yet determined.  

Neighbors initially thought the car was burning car with no victims inside as they joined hands to extinguish the fire, so they were surprised to later find two dead bodies, according to Budi, a resident who helped put out the fire. 

“We were shocked to find bodies of toddlers inside. They were both found on the left seat,” he said, adding that the parents of the toddlers also helped extinguish the fire, not knowing that their children were inside the car.

The local police announced that a team from the North Sumatra Police’s forensics laboratory would help investigate the incident.

“We hope they will be able to answer the question [on the cause of the fire],” Nasib said on Tuesday.

Nasib added that the bodies of the victims had been transported to a hospital in Pematang Siantar for an autopsy. (swa)

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