An 18-month-old girl has died after being forgotten and left on a nursery minibus for approximately seven hours in sweltering temperatures in Almada, Portugal. The toddler, identified only as Sofia, was discovered in critical condition inside the vehicle on Avenida do Cristo Rei shortly before 4pm on July 23, 2026. Paramedics attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Timeline of events
According to the girl's grandmother, Sofia was handed over to a worker at around 8am and was supposed to be taken to her day care centre. The minibus, belonging to a creche named Colegio Mestre Cuco, was parked in front of a different facility from the one Sofia attended. The alarm was raised when her mother went to pick her up in the afternoon and realised her daughter was missing.
The grandmother told Portuguese tabloid Correio da Manha: 'We don't know why my granddaughter was left in a van at this institution, which isn't hers. The person who had the van killed my granddaughter.'
Investigation underway
Temperatures in Almada at the time of the discovery were around 27°C. Portugal's Policia Judiciaria police force has been mobilised to investigate the incident. No arrests have been reported as of yet.
Similar tragedies in Europe
This incident follows a series of similar tragedies in Europe. In June 2026, two children aged two and four were found dead in their family's car in Carpentras, southeastern France, during a severe heatwave. In September 2023, a 10-month-old girl named Madalena died after being left in a car on a Portuguese university campus for several hours in 26°C heat. Her father, a lecturer at the Nova School of Science and Technology in Almada, reportedly forgot to drop her off at the creche before going to work. He called emergency services after discovering her unconscious, but she could not be revived.
In May 2025, a three-year-old boy died in Linares, Spain, after being found trapped inside a parked car in 80°F (approximately 27°C) heat. Emergency responders freed him from the vehicle, but he had no heartbeat and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
