Mum of boys, 2 and 4, found dead in hot car during heatwave was ‘dealing with a lot’

Kassim Benouali, four, and his younger brother Sadek, two, were found dead in a car in Carpentras, France, during the record-breaking heatwave – a manslaughter investigation has been launched

The mother of two young brothers who died in a vehicle during the record-breaking heatwave in France was “dealing with a lot” and “struggling to focus”. Four-year-old Kassim Benouali and his younger sibling Sadek, two, went into cardiac arrest after becoming trapped inside a car where temperatures may have soared to 70C.

The boys were discovered unconscious in the vehicle by their mum Wafa El Boubkari after they had come back from a swimming outing and a trip to the supermarket in Bois de l’Ubac, Carpentras.

Prosecutors initially indicated the children had ‘locked themselves’ inside the motor without their mother’s knowledge. It was subsequently reported that Ms Boubkari told officers she had ‘forgotten her children‘.

A source close to the investigation told AFP the mother provided police with several different accounts of events.

In her updated statement, the mother claimed the children climbed inside the car without her realising, secured the doors behind them, and became stuck inside, without her awareness. A manslaughter probe was launched.

The incident has sent shockwaves across the nation. Temperatures inside the motor may have reached as high as 70C without any air conditioning running, investigators claim.

Ms Boubkari, who is mum to two other children aged under 10, was reportedly residing with her mother at the time of the heartbreaking incident following her split from her husband.

Fatiha, the lads’ grandmother, branded it a “huge tragedy,” explaining how her daughter and the boys had been for a swim and to the shops before heading home. “She then drove home with the boys who she left in the car to offload the shopping,” she told the Mail.

“It was a genuine mistake, nothing illegal has happened. Everybody has been struggling to focus in this heat, she got busy, and my daughter was also dealing with a lot of other things in her life.”

The two lads were found in the white Peugeot at around 1pm, both in cardiac arrest.

Emergency services rushed to the scene but despite their valiant efforts, they were unable to save them.

Ms Boubkari’s sister, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed: “Wafa hasn’t stopped crying, she’s in a bad way, she’s barely able to speak.”

An initial post-mortem examination carried out on Tuesday confirmed the boys perished from dehydration due to “exposure to excessive heat”.

A funeral service for the two youngsters took place on Friday at Carpentras Mosque.

Ms Boubkari spent the opening days of this week receiving hospital treatment for shock.

A workmate from the patisserie in Carpentras where Ms Boubkari is employed described her as “a very nice, hardworking, down to earth woman who was dealing with a lot of things”.

They continued: “She’s a very good mother and was doing her best. The pain she is going through must be unimaginable and beyond words. Our hearts go out to her, what has happened is horrific and tragic.”