Suspects arrested over forgotten toddler released from custody

An Athens prosecutor on Tuesday ordered the release from custody of five suspects accused of endangering the life of a toddler who was reportedly left on a kindergarten school bus for several hours during unseasonably high temperatures in the seaside suburb of Varkiza on Monday.

According to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the 2-year-old toddler was on the bus for at least four hours after her fellow pupils were dropped off at their kindergarten on Monday morning. She is thought to have fallen asleep, with her absence going unnoticed. 

The child was eventually freed after a passerby heard her sobbing and alerted the police.

The toddler’s parents have filed suit against the driver, the bus monitors, their daughter’s teacher and the kindergarten’s manager and owner, who were arrested on Monday.