Two 15-month-old twin sisters were reportedly found dead in their beds in France, as the country battles through the scorching heatwave. The incident happened in the small town of Beuvrages, near the commune of Valenciennes.
Emergency services were called to an address this afternoon (June 29) at around 1pm local time. In a statement released on Monday, the public prosecutor of the Valenciennes commune confirmed in a statement the deaths of two 15-month-old twin girls, found “lifeless in their respective beds” by emergency services. An autopsy will be performed Tuesday afternoon, June 30, to determine the circumstances of their deaths, “exploring in particular the possibility of dehydration due to the high temperature recorded in the room,” the statement added.
A cordon is in place outside the property, and the parents were held in custody at the local police station, local news outlets report.
French media also reported that the parents were not previously known to social services.
The incident comes as France recorded roughly 1,000 excess deaths last week at the peak of its record-breaking heatwave, as intense temperatures moved eastward across Europe.
As conditions pushed above 40C for several consecutive days and were followed by severe thunderstorms, funeral services in Paris struggled to cope, with mortuaries becoming overwhelmed and running out of space for the growing number of bodies.
World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus blamed climate change and global warming.
In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe”.
“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he said.
Many of the extra fatalities are among those aged 65 over, the agency said, after logging a 40% rise in the number of people dying at home.
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” Tedros warned.
The extreme weather has led European authorities to take drastic measures to prevent heat-related illnesses. On Thursday, the Dutch music festival Defqon.1 was cancelled following an unprecedented code red warning for extreme heat.
