The police command in Niger has confirmed the death of five children by suffocation in a car on Sunday in Minna.

DSP Wasiu Abiodun, the police public relations officer (PPRO) in Niger, confirmed the incident to journalists on Monday in Minna.

He said that the Kpakungu Division Office of the police command received a report at about 6.30 p.m. on Sunday that five children between the ages of five and 13 years were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle with registration No. GO 778 ABC at Gurara Albishir area of Minna.

Mr Abiodun said that the children were found to have suffocated in the vehicle, while their bodies were later removed by the various parents as police visited the scene.

The PPRO said that the owner of the vehicle had been invited for questioning and investigation was ongoing on the matter.

Meanwhile, a source in the neighbourhood who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the children had  mistakenly locked themselves in the car, which had been abandoned for more than two years by the owner.

He said that the parents later discovered their bodies in a car on Sunday evening after searching for them for hours in the vicinity.

According to the source, the victims comprised four females and a male, three siblings and two others from different parents, including the car owner’s child.

(NAN)