Toddler dies after being found inside washing machine in family home

(PA)

A toddler has died after being found inside the washing machine at her family home, according to reports.

Authorities in Paris announced on Friday they were opening an investigation into the three-year-old girl’s death.

The prosecutor’s office said she was discovered at a property in northeast Paris on Thursday night, but refused to provide more details or confirm a report in Le Parisien that she was found alive inside the washing machine.

The newspaper claimed she was found inside the household appliance by her father and another family member at their home in Paris’ 20th arrondissement. She died in emergency care an hour later.

The washing machine had not been switched on but its doors shut automatically, the report said. The girl’s father, aged 48, said the door of the appliance was closed and that the appliance did not turn on of its own accord.

Le Parisien wrote the girl’s parents had just finished dinner when they started to worry about the whereabouts of the toddler. It is alleged they searched their own apartment and sought help from neighbours.

The family are said to have found the girl at around 10.30pm in a critical condition. She was pronounced dead at 11.30pm.

A source close to the investigation told the newspaper that initial reports marked her death as being triggered by “choking”, but urged caution over drawing conclusions during the early stages of the probe.

There was no trace of violence and an autopsy will be performed on the girl’s body.

The investigation continues.