Five children aged between three and seven years old have been found dead inside a freezer.

The police in Kakamas have opened an inquest case.

“The deceased are cousins. It is alleged that on 19 January 2016 at about 18:00‚ the grandmother of the children found them all suffocated inside an old freezer in their yard‚” the Northern Cape police’s Major Dimakatso Mooi said in a statement.

It is believed the freezer locked accidentally while the kids were playing inside it.

“The police appeal to parents or children’s caretakers to take responsibility in ensuring their children’s safety at all times. Children should not be left unattended and the yards must be cleared of old equipment not used and scraps that can cause harm to the children‚” Mooi said.

This is the second tragedy involving children reported this week. Two toddlers died and two were in a critically condition after becoming trapped while playing in an old disused vehicle in Clermont‚ west of Durban‚ yesterday.

KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services spokesman Robert Mckenzie said community members noticed the four children in the hot vehicle.

“It is alleged that community members noticed the children in the car and rescued them from the hot vehicle before rushing them to a local community health centre. Nursing staff at the centre immediately started treating the children‚ who were all unconscious at the time‚” he said.

They called for paramedics to assist in treating and transporting the children to hospital.

The three-year-boy and two-year-old girl died while the other two children are in a critical condition in hospital‚ Mckenzie said.