On two consecutive days, two small children lost their lives in tragic accidents at daycare centers in north rhine-westphalia.
On monday, a two-year-old died during naptime at a facility in gelsenkirchen, germany. The investigators assume that he could have suffocated after he had trapped his head in a bunk bed.
On tuesday afternoon, another tragic accident occurred on the grounds of a daycare center in lemgo (lippe district), in which a five-year-old boy was injured so severely that he died. According to police so far, he had been playing with a vehicle trailer with a tilting bed parked on the aubengeland and had become trapped between the tilting bed and the trailer's chassis. The emergency services were able to free the boy, but he died of his injuries at the scene of the accident.
Investigations started
Police are investigating after both tragic accidents. In particular, the exact circumstances that led to the death of the five-year-old in lemgo were initially unclear, according to a police spokesman. Criminal investigation is in its early stages. It is still unclear why the two-by-three-meter trailer was parked on the grounds of the daycare center in the lieme suburb of lemgo in the first place. It has been impounded for closer examination. The exact course of events is also still unclear, it said on tuesday evening.
Rescue workers were alerted at 12:20 p.M. They were able to free the boy, but were unable to save him. Relatives of the boy, kindergarten children, employees of the daycare center and rescue workers involved in the operation were subsequently cared for by chaplains.
The exact cause of death of the child in the gelsenkirchen facility has not yet been confirmed by an autopsy, as a city spokesman said on tuesday. The posture in which the boy was found, however, strengthened the suspicion that he had been trapped and suffocated.
The boy had lain down in the bunk bed during his midday nap and had obviously pushed up the floor plate of the bed above him. Then his head was probably caught between the bed frame and the floor slab of the upper bed, described the city spokesman. The whole thing happened without a murmur. The educators sitting just outside the quiet room had not heard a thing.
The bunk beds are high quality furniture specially designed for day care centers. The city has similar beds in use in many daycare centers. All had been examined, everywhere the floor plate of the upper bed was solid – only the unfortunate bed apparently not, said the spokesperson. The bed is more than ten years old.
Educators had found the boy lifeless on monday after a midday nap in the facility. He had been resuscitated but died shortly afterwards.