A five-year-old boy has tragically died after his dad accidentally left him locked inside his car in hot weather while he went to work.

The incident took place in the Croatian city of Knin on 8th June.

The man, his wife, and their five-year-old son left home by car in the morning.

The father, who is a soldier, dropped his wife off at work. Cops believe he then forgot to drop off his son, who was sleeping on the back seat, at school.

The man then parked the car on a street, locked the vehicle, and went to the barracks.

Temperatures reached over 28 degrees Celcius (82 degrees F) in the shade during the day.

It is not known if the boy woke up and shouted for help or if he passed out in his sleep. However, works were going on near the car park and his possible cries may have gone unheard.

The car also had tinted windows, so it is possible that passersby would not have noticed him.

The boy’s absence was noted when his mother went to pick him up from school at around 3 pm.

She called her husband, who was convinced he had dropped his son off at school that morning. However, he returned to the car to check and found his son passed out inside.

He tried to revive the youngster, but was unsuccessful, and he eventually passed out himself from shock.

The emergency services arrived on the scene at around 4 pm and confirmed the boy’s death.

A criminal case has been opened and the father is under investigation.