Missing Boy Found Dead After Being Trapped Inside Neighbor's Car

An eight-year-old boy, who went missing while playing, was found dead inside a neighbor's car, police said. The incident happened in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

Police said the child's parents approached them to report him missing on June 27, Al Arabiya reported.

Though police and emergency personnel carried out a massive search operation, the boy was not found. However, a neighbor spotted the child inside her car later in the day. She immediately alerted police officials and they declared the boy dead. The child, whose identity has not been released, is from India, the report said.

Police believe that the car owner left the vehicle unlocked. The child, who was playing nearby, entered the vehicle and was unable to get out of it after closing the door. Sweltering heat and lack of ventilation inside the car caused him to suffocate to death, it said.

A top official at the forensic division of the Sharjah Police told Khaleej Times that the death is not being treated as suspicious. Still, the case has been referred to the public prosecution, the report stated.

Reports say the temperatures in some parts of the UAE crossed 50 degrees in the last few days of June. With temperatures soaring, authorities in the country have warned people not to leave cars unlocked or leave children locked inside their vehicles "even for a minute."

"The temperature inside a car can increase around 20°C in just 10 minutes and 40°C in one hour. So never leave the child alone in the vehicle, even for a minute. Children are more at risk compared to adults when it comes to being left inside vehicles," Khaleej Times reported citing an expert.

A similar case was reported in Oklahoma last week. Police rescued a 16-year-old disabled boy who was found tied to his car seat and was screaming in agony inside the hot vehicle.

Police said his face was red and he was sweating profusely. The boy, whose identity was not revealed, was also making a whining sound. The vehicle wasn't turned on and there was no air conditioning. He also had flies crawling in and around his mouth, officials said.