OLONGAPO CITY — TWO four-year-old children have died following a suffocation incident inside an abandoned vehicle on April 8, 2026, police said.
According to Police Major George Francis B. Molina, chief of Olongapo City Police Station 6, the incident occurred at a vacant lot along Rizal Street corner Abra Street in Barangay Barretto.
The victims, identified only as “Gabriel” and “Steven,” both residents of Abra Street, were reportedly found unconscious inside a junked Mitsubishi Lancer parked in the area.
Gabriel was declared dead on arrival at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital, while Steven was initially placed under medical observation but later died at the hospital.
Initial investigation revealed that a 10-year-old cousin of the victims, identified as “Joy,” went to the vacant lot where the children were last seen playing. She later discovered them lying unconscious on the rear passenger seat of the abandoned vehicle.
Joy immediately sought assistance from a bystander, identified as Joseph Dolinen, 39, who was delivering sand nearby at the time. Dolinen helped remove the children from the vehicle and contacted the Barangay Barretto Fire and Rescue.
Responding rescue personnel rushed the victims to the hospital for immediate medical attention, but both were later pronounced dead.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the incident, which is believed to have been caused by suffocation inside the closed vehicle.
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