A FOUR-year-old girl died at school when a dressing table toppled onto her during her birthday celebration.
Little Alice Brasil Souza da Paz was celebrating her birthday with classmates at a school in northeastern Brazil when a tragic incident occurred, witnessed by her twin brother.
The twins’ parents stayed for part of the celebration at CEV school in Teresina on Tuesday.
A few hours later, while they were at work, the parents said a teacher called to tell them Alice had been in an accident.
Alice’s mother, Dayana Brasil, mentioned: “This past Tuesday, we brought our daughter in the morning, vibrant and healthy, to mark her birthday with her school friends, a celebration also for her brother.”
“After the celebration, we said goodbye to our children and went to work.
“A few hours later, we were called and received the news that she had died at school.”
According to police, the accident happened in the school’s playroom when another child crawled under a dressing table, causing it to fall on Alice, who was nearby.
Her twin brother witnessed the tragedy.
The school said that it is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Alice’s dad Claudio Sousa said the family have heard different explanations from the school and still do not understand what happened.
He said they were told at first that a toy had fallen on the child.
The family described the trauma of burying Alice the following day, which happened to also be her dad’s birthday.
He said: “My gift was to bury my daughter.
“We lost our daughter in the place where she should have been safe and protected. We don’t want revenge.
“We want justice so that no other child goes through what our Alice went through.”
The parents expressed their deep concern over the trauma their son, Arthur, is experiencing after both witnessing the accident and losing his inseparable twin sister.
The father questioned, “How can I make a four-year-old understand that his sister, who has shared everything with him since being in my wife’s womb, is no longer with us?”
“He saw it all, witnessing a scene no child or person should ever have to see.”
The school has suspended all activities for the week and released a statement expressing its condolences.
It added psychological support is being offered to families, staff and the wider school community.
The case is being investigated by the Child and Adolescent Protection Unit, led by Chief Hugo Alcantara.
It comes as a tech CEO was killed in a freak mid-air skydiving collision.
Thomas Britis, a 44-year-old head of a fiber optics company, crashed into a field after he and a friend jumped from a small plane in Brazil, as reported by local authorities.
