An 18-month-old girl has tragically d!ed after she was allegedly forgotten and left inside a nursery minibus for about seven hours in Portugal during warm daytime conditions.

The toddler, identified only as Sofia, was found in critical condition inside the parked vehicle in Almada, across the Tagus River from Lisbon, shortly before 4 p.m. on July 23.

Emergency responders rushed to the scene and desperately attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced d3ad at the scene.

According to her grandmother, Sofia was handed over to a nursery worker at about 8 a.m. and was supposed to be taken to her daycare centre.

It was only when her mother arrived to pick her up later that afternoon and discovered she was not at the facility that the alarm was raised.

Reports indicate the minibus had been parked on Avenida do Cristo Rei, in front of a different childcare facility from the one Sofia attended.

Her grieving grandmother said:

“We don’t know why my granddaughter was left in a van at this institution, which isn’t hers. The person who had the van k!lled my granddaughter.”

The nursery linked to the vehicle has been identified locally as Colegio Mestre Cuco.

Temperatures in Almada were reported to be around 27°C when the child was discovered.

No arrests had been reported as of the time of filing this report. However, Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria has taken over the investigation to determine exactly how the tragic incident occurred.