A four-year-old boy died yesterday after his coat got caught on a hook as he tried to get out through a toilet window at a school in Co Clare.
The incident, which occurred at around 4.30pm at Feakle National School, has left the local community in shock.
The victim's older brother is believed to have found the boy, who was a junior infants' pupil, after he went missing for an hour yesterday afternoon.
Gardaí believe the boy left the school with his classmates when they finished classes earlier in the day.
It is thought, however, that he may have entered the school later in the afternoon without being noticed by teachers.
Some older students had been participating in hurling training at the school and the building was locked up by staff after the hurlers collected their gear bags to go home.
It is thought the child may have wandered into the school without the knowledge of teachers and was inadvertently locked in.
It is known, however, that the he was attempting to get out a toilet window in the school when his anorak became tangled on a hook, leaving him caught by his coat.
Some adults who were near the scene released the boy and carried out CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) until an ambulance arrived from Ennis.
It appears the local ambulance, based at Scarriff, just 9.7km away, was on a call in Limerick at the time of the incident. As a result, an ambulance was sent from Ennis, 29km away.
Frantic efforts to revive the child continued as ambulance staff took him to the Ennis General Hospital where further attempts were made to save him. He was pronounced dead at about 6.30pm.
Gardaí were still at the scene late last night and were expected to carry out a detailed technical examination today.
"We do not believe that there is any foul play here, but we want to satisfy ourselves that it was an accident," a Garda spokesman said.
The spokesman also confirmed that the Deputy State Pathologist has been requested to carry out a postmortem examination at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick early today.
"It appears that the young boy may have been locked into the school accidentally and was trying to get out a toilet window when his coat got caught on a hook.
"It is a terrible tragedy and everyone here is very upset by what happened," the Garda spokesman added.
Last night, the school's board of management met to discuss the incident. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) was also alerted and will be present in the school to offer counselling .
Staff at the school are said to be "very upset" following the tragedy. Fr Michael Hogan, parish priest of Feakle, spoke to the family who were in a state of shock and added that the local community was deeply upset by the incident.