The families of eight minors mourn after their bodies were recovered from a Honda sport utility vehicle parked on Adelayo Street in the JahMichael area, Badagry Highway, Lagos state.
The children are said to have placed in the car when they mistakenly locked themselves in due to unsuccessful attempts to open the door, while a parent is said to have found their remains in the vehicle while looking for the children.
The father is said to have sounded the alarm and attracted other parents and residents. A video clip recorded shortly after the victims’ bodies were recovered from the vehicle showed their immovable remains on the ground occurred on Saturday, December 4, 2021, they requested an investigation to find out the circumstances surrounding the death of the minors.
The victims were identified as Mamod, Aisha, Zainab, Farida, Yakubu, Tayab, Wahab, and one more. State Police PR officer CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu said in a statement Sunday that State Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu had ordered an investigation into the incident, adding that the bodies had been deposited in a morgue.
He said, “The eight children are said to have accidentally locked themselves in an abandoned car while playing. Their bodies were recovered and deposited with the Badagry General Hospital morgue for autopsies to determine true cause of death.
“Regardless of what has been reported to the police, Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu has ordered a thorough and prompt investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. The PC also sympathizes with the victims’ families.
A consulting family doctor from Lagos State University Hospital, Ikeja, Dr. Oluwajimi Sodipo, however, said it could take six to eight hours for children to die of suffocation or excessive heat.
“There are many determinants of vehicle oxygen loss. The number of children in the vehicle; As the length of stay in the vehicle increases, they deliver not only the oxygen entering but also carbon dioxide, which accumulates over time. The more people there are, the more it will build up, and of course that can lead to it.
“Another factor is that it also depends on the timing of the incident. One assumption is that they might have died of asphyxiation; Another possibility is that if it is very hot, since the weather is hot at the moment and we do not know what time the incident occurred, if you have been locked in the vehicle for a long time, the possibility of complications from excessive Heat persists. “Like heat stroke, dehydration and all that can happen.
But roughly speaking, I’m assuming it will take at least six to eight hours for everyone in the vehicle to die, although he urged parents and tutors to closely monitor their children and recommended child protection services to strengthen in the country.