A three-year-old child has died from heatstroke after being left in a hot car for nearly four hours while a grandparent was at work, police said.

The grandparent, who may face charges of manslaughter, was meant to drive the child to a daycare center in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday, but instead headed straight to work after forgetting about the grandchild in the backseat. 

After parking the car in an outdoor parking lot, the grandparent went into the office. The grandparent later came back to the vehicle around 1:30 p.m. after a board of directors meeting followed by a luncheon, only to find the grandchild unconscious in the vehicle.

The child was then rushed to a hospital nearby before succumbing to heatstroke.

The grandparent whose name has not been disclosed told local police that being preoccupied with the board of directors meeting scheduled on the same day led to forgetting about the child.

Temperatures in South Gyeongsang Province reached highs of 33 Celsius degrees on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration office in the region.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)