A boy and girl have died in a game of hide and seek while their parents were out shopping.
Brother and sister Sauri and Darien Tiller, aged eight and five, suffocated once they climbed right into a freezer.
The door closed behind them and so they were unable to open it.
Their parents returned 20 minutes later and located their bodies trapped inside.
The siblings were taken to hospital in Vista Hermosa, a town in Colombia’s Meta department, but doctors were unable to revive them.
The siblings’ dad, Brayan Guevara Trivino, has insisted the freezer was turned off once they left at around 7pm on Saturday.
Brayan told Colombian every day El Tiempo: ‘We went out to get groceries and to search for somewhat shirt they needed for a parade once they began school.
‘We went out and it took us about 20 minutes, roughly. The freezer was unplugged.
‘The kids climbed in and got inside. They played, the lid fell, it closed on them and so they suffocated.’
He said the youngsters had the habit of playing hide-and-seek and one would go on the lookout for the opposite, and explained how he and his wife found them after starting to look the home.
The kids’ mum Karen Tiller Pana said in an agonising tribute on social media alongside photos she posted of her children: ‘Thanks my babies for having given me the best joy in these eight years of life.
‘Thanks for having chosen me as your mother. It was probably the most beautiful experience I could ever have, thanks for all the pieces we shared.
‘Soon we will probably be together; how short time is and the way long the memory lasts.
‘Words fail me. I loved you as much as I could, and only God will know why He took you. Thanks for all the pieces we lived and shared; you’ll at all times be in my heart for so long as it endures.’
Their aunt Lindey Almazo Rosado added in her own tribute: ‘From the deepest a part of my soul I mourn the passing of my nephew, my beloved little dark-haired boy and my Saori, my beautiful girl, my star weaver.
‘Two little angels who today are in Heaven.
‘They leave us with an immense emptiness and a sadness that hurts within the deepest a part of the soul.
‘Brayan and Karen, may God offer you great strength, may He embrace you and offer you the strength to maneuver forward within the midst of this great pain.
‘My beautiful children will live ceaselessly in our hearts. We’ll always remember them.’
The siblings’ school, Los Centauros, said in a press release: ‘We regret the deaths of Darien and Saori Guevara Tiller.
‘We express our most sincere condolences to their family at such a difficult moment.’
Local mayor Juan Andres Gomez, in a shared statement with Vista Hermosa Town Hall, said: ‘The Municipal Administration deeply regrets the death of two minors that occurred in our municipality, an event that saddens the whole community and fills us with grief.
‘In keeping with preliminary information, the parents had left their residence at night, leaving the youngsters alone.
‘Upon returning and never finding them, they began searching and located them inside a refrigerator without signs of life.
‘They were immediately taken to the municipal hospital, where medical personnel performed resuscitation manoeuvres, unfortunately confirming their death.
‘We extend our most sincere condolences to their families and family members during this time of immense sorrow.
‘This tragic event compels us to reflect as a society and to keep in mind that protecting children is just not optional; it’s an obligation. Children don’t understand risks and depend on adult care.
‘A moment of negligence can turn into an irreversible tragedy inside minutes, which is why we make a firm call to oldsters and caregivers to maximise supervision and protection measures.
‘Today, it is just not enough to lament; today, we must act to make sure this doesn’t occur again.’
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