Two young siblings have been found dead after allegedly becoming trapped inside a chest freezer while playing hide-and-seek at their home on Saturday night.
The victims, eight-year-old Saori and her five-year-old brother Darien, were discovered unconscious by their parents before being rushed to hospital. However, medical efforts to save them were unsuccessful.
The tragic incident is believed to have occurred when the children entered an unused freezer as a hiding place, before the lid accidentally closed, leaving them unable to breathe.
Reports indicate that the parents had left the children at home for around 20 minutes at about 7pm while they went out to purchase essential items.
The father, Brayan Guevara Trivino, said the freezer had been disconnected from the power supply at the time and was not in use, adding that it had been used by the children as part of their play area.
“We went out to buy groceries and were only gone for a short while. The freezer was not plugged in,” he said.
He added that the children were believed to have climbed inside to play, before the lid shut and trapped them inside.
Police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the heartbreaking incident.
