teddy bear
© Wikimedia Commons/Wildfeuer
A three-year-old girl was found in a Rotterdam home with her dead mother last month, alderman Sven de Langen said in a letter to the municipal council. While some media reports suggested the girl may have been home alone with her mother's body for a week, the exact timeline is not yet known. The girl is now with a foster family and is doing well under the circumstances, the alderman wrote. He called the incident "tragic".

The child and the body of her 41-year-old mother were found on January 20th. According to RTV Rijnmond, they were discovered after a downstairs neighbor noticed water leaking through the roof. The water came from a tap in the home above. It is believed that the 3-year-old left the tap open when she was looking for something to drink.

Family members told the broadcaster that the woman was known to the aid organizations for some time. They were reportedly stunned it took a week before her death was noticed.

RTV Rijnmond reports that the girl was in the home in the Nieuwe Westen district for around a week before she was found. Neither the police nor the municipality would confirm this to AD, but authorities reportedly said no crime was committed.

The municipality reported the incident to the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate. The inspectorate is investigating whether the mother and child received any form of care before the mother's death.