The game was recurring and the four-year-old boy had already been warned not to hide in the clothes dryer. And, this time, the game went wrong, because the door of the appliance closed and was locked, leaving the child trapped inside.
The tragic incident occurred on Thursday morning, in Magaluf, a town in Mallorca, in the Balearic archipelago. According to the Spanish press, the boy did not have school and was staying with his grandmother and aunt. The grandmother was away to run some errands and, at a time when the aunt fell asleep, the child went to the terrace of the house and climbed into the tumble dryer to play and hide.
When the grandmother arrived home, around 2 pm (1 pm in mainland Portugal), and didn’t find her grandson, she woke up the family member who had been left to look after the child and they immediately went to the dryer, where they found the boy asphyxiated inside the appliance.
They were in shock and alerted the emergency services who, upon arrival, could do nothing more and confirmed the death.
According to the investigation, the boy used to hide as a game. Dogs also live in the house and, therefore, the terrace door was open to facilitate the animals’ entry and exit.
The autopsy report will be decisive in confirming the child’s cause of death.
