A 16-month-old New Zealand toddler died after being left in a car outside the hospital where his mother works. The unnamed mother claimed she forgot to drop him off at a nearby day care on Friday.

According to numerous reports, the mother, a senior staff member at the Whanganui Hospital, was supposed to drop off her son at the Noah’s Ark Early Learning Centre, but forgot to do so. The boy was inadvertently left inside the vehicle under the summer heat for several hours. It was 26 degrees Celsius maximum in Whanganui on Friday.

The child died inside the vehicle. It is believed that the day care had tried to contact the mother several times to ask her about the whereabouts of the child.

A witness recalled the harrowing scene in the hospital when the grief-stricken mother rushed her lifeless boy to the hospital. She told the New Zealand Herald she heard the mother screaming for help as doctors hurried to get to them.

“The poor lady, she didn’t even make it up the steps,” the eyewitness said, adding that the devastated mother was carried in as soon as her son was taken. “It wasn’t quiet … She was clutching her chest and screaming. It’s just a scene that I will probably live with forever.”

Police are investigating the matter. A post-mortem was also completed on Saturday, with further testing on the way.

Wanagui District Health Board Chairwoman Dot McKinnon expressed her support to the family of the child, though refusing to comment further until the investigation is completed.

“We’ve got to look after the family and let them grieve in their time, and of course they’ve been given as much as the wrap-around services that you can give from their friends and colleagues,” she was quoted as saying. “Because there’s a police and coroner’s investigation, we really just keep out until there are facts that we can understand.”

Noah’s Ark Early Learning Centre also refused to comment while the police investigation is going on. “Our thoughts and love are with the family at this tragic time,” owner Kristie Cate said.

a.lu@ibtimes.com.au