18-month-old baby dies in car as parent 'forgets about child and goes to work'

18-month-old baby dies in car as parent 'forgets about child and goes to work' An 18-month-old girl was found unconscious and died in hospital after being left in a car in Bertem, near Leuven, Belgium, by a parent who allegedly forgot her and went to work An 18-month-old girl has tragically died in a car after a parent allegedly forgot to drop her at a nursery in Belgium. Emergency services rushed to the scene in Bertem, near Leuven, when the child was discovered after being left in the vehicle all day, with the parent having gone off to work. It is understood that an older sister had been dropped off at at GBS‘t Zonneveld primary school last Friday before the parent then went off to work and is claimed to have forgotten the 18-month-old girl. It was after they arrived at the primary school again to pick up the older child that the heartbreaking discovery was made. The girl was unconscious having been in the car all day. Paramedics tried to revive her before taking her to the UZ Gasthuisberg hospital, in Leuven, where she died. An investigation has been launched into the death by the Leuven Public Prosecutor's Office. It is currently being treated as an accident. “One of her parents was supposed to take her to daycare in the morning but forgot that the child was still in the car,” the prosecutor’s office told HLN. Bertem mayor Joel Vander Elst said he was told of the tragedy from the school, and that he would wait for the prosecutor's office to carry out an investigation before commenting as it was a "very sensitive" case. He said: “The family reportedly lives in Bertem. At the moment, the circumstances are not yet very clear. I heard several versions yesterday during our annual fair, so it is important that the public prosecutor's office completes its investigation before we can communicate." And he added: “I can’t say much about the matter yet because it is all very sensitive and the public prosecutor is still investigating.” Psychological support is being offered to pupils and teachers at GBS‘t Zonneveld primary school. Mr Vander Elst stated: "The (school) management and the CLB (Pupil Counselling Centre) are currently fully engaged in assessing what guidance is required (...) to be able to respond appropriately to the questions. "The municipal primary school 't Zonneveld will open as usual (...) with normal classes. We will, however, set up a quiet room for teachers and children who had contact with the sister of the young victim, who attends the school in the first grade.”