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A schoolgirl, 7, from Chon Buri province in eastern Thailand was found dead after being forgotten and locked in a school van on Aug. 20, according to Thai PBS World.

Only discovered at 4pm

According to the school teachers, they were supposed to ensure that all the students had alighted after the van arrived at the school, the Bangkok Post reported.

The driver then parked the van at the school's car park with the assumption that the vehicle was empty, and left it there from morning until around 4pm, Thaiger reported.

The driver discovered the body of the girl when he went to retrieve the van at 4pm to ferry the students home.

Local police were alerted at 5pm by the school's teachers.

Girl died of heatstroke

According to the local police, the girl was found lying on the floor behind the driver's seat with a black backpack and a cup of water nearby, the Bangkok Post wrote.

Cuts and bruises were also found on the girl's body.

Her complexion was pale and she was bleeding from the mouth, Thaiger reported.

Preliminary investigations by the police ruled that the girl died as a result of heatstroke, according to the Bangkok Post.

They also concluded that the girl had fallen asleep at the back of the van after moving there to make space for other students.

The driver of the van and a school teacher have been charged by the police with "recklessness causing death", the Bangkok Post wrote.

Both have confessed to the charges.

School staff not forthcoming when informing parents

Parents of the girl shared with local media that three school staff had gone to their home after the incident, but were initially not forthcoming about what transpired, Thai PBS World wrote.

They instead asked if their child had any underlying disease.

It was only after the parents pressed them about why they were asking that the staff revealed the details of their child's death.

The family was also puzzled by the cuts and bruises found on the girl's body that were not noticed by the mother in the morning, and said they will seek a repeat autopsy if the first autopsy failed to clear their doubts, the Bangkok Post reported.

Thai Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said she will not accept the "excuse" that the driver and teacher had left the girl in the van out of forgetfulness, and has ordered a probe into the incident, Thai PBS World reported.

Between 2014 and 2020, 129 similar cases were reported in Thailand with six deaths in total.

Top image via Thairath Online/Youtube