Child dies in hot car as parents attend Bible study

A partially dried-up pond near downtown Dallas, Texas in a previous heatwave when temperatures reached 108 Fahrenheit (42 Celsius).Tim Sharp/Reuters

A three-year-old boy has died in Dallas, Texas after he was accidentally left in a car in temperatures of around 100F when his parents went in to attend a church service.

The distraught parents were attending Sunday afternoon Bible study at Rehoboth Praise Assembly in the city's White Rock area.

At the Bible study, adults and children gather separately for the first half and come together after half an hour. 

The parents realised the boy was not in the church with them when their other four children arrived without him. The father ran to his SUV but the child was by then not responding.

"Oh I'm really upset for him and the family. You know today is Sunday and every Sunday we pray. We believe in God," one church member, Reng Om, told Fox News.

The boy was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police are looking into the case.

According to kidsandcars, on average 37 children a year die from heat stroke after being left in a hot car.