Children left in car during heat wave, New Glasgow police investigating

Four children under the age of 10 were left unattended in a parked car in New Glasgow Wednesday and the incident is under investigation by police.

New Glasgow Regional Police responded to a call around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday and found the children, ranging from one to nine years of age, in a blue Volkswagen parked outside the town's Walmart. Police say some of the car's windows were down.

The three girls and a boywere taken to Aberdeen Hospital as a precaution.

Temperatures in the New Glasgow area reached 22 C on Wednesday and the humidex hit 30. Pictou County, along with much of the rest of Nova Scotia, was and continues to be under a heat warning issued by Environment Canada.

The weather agency says people and pets should never be left inside a vehicle when heat warnings are in effect.

In a news release Wednesday, Const. Ken Macdonald cautioned about the risks of hot cars in summertime.

"On a very warm humid day like today, the temperature inside your vehicle becomes extremely hot, extremely fast and deadly.

"It only take 20 minutes for the interior of a vehicle to reach extreme temperatures even on days that seem relatively mild."

On Thursday morning, Macdonald told CBCthat investigators were still looking into the incident. He did not have an update on the condition of the children.