BREAKING NEWS

Infant left in car dies from heatstroke in Ashdod

An 18-month-old boy died of asphyxiation and heat prostration in his parents’ car on Ashdod’s Benzion Millman Street on Monday. As the hot weather is just beginning, rescue authorities fear that it was just one of numerous tragedies that will occur unless the authorities and parents take responsibility to prevent them.
Volunteers from United Hatzalah were the first to reach the toddler and, to their sadness, declare him dead.
Benny Menala, a volunteer in the ambucycle unit, said: “When I arrived at the site, I found a small child unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse. Passersby said the child was forgotten by his family from the morning hours, and when his father arrived to take him, he was dead. Unfortunately, we could not save the boy, because he was completely dehydrated and burned.”
United Hatzlah reminded the public never to leave children alone, even for a second, in vehicles.
Kulanu MK Yifat Shasha-Biton, chairman of the Knesset Children’s Rights Committee, recently contacted the managers of large shopping centers around the country, asking them to post signs aimed at preventing such tragedies.
Big, Ofer and other shopping centers agreed, and such signs have already been posted in dozens of centers.
The Kulanu MK said that “forgetting children in cars has already taken a toll on the lives of too many children, and we, as a society, must prevent it.” She hopes the signs would help.