Tragic siblings, 2 and 3, die just minutes apart after suffering severe asthma attacks at their New York home
Olivia Gee and brother Micha were put to sleep in the same bed on Sunday night
A TWO-year-old girl and her three-year-old brother died just minutes apart after both suffered apparent asthma attacks at their New York home, police said.
Olivia and Micha Gee were both put to bed at around 8.30pm on Sunday night at the family’s home in Kingsbridge Heights, in the Bronx.
When their mum’s 31-year-old boyfriend awoke around 1.20am and heard the children gasping for air, he ran and found they were struggling to breathe.
The boyfriend and the mum called 911, and emergency crews then rushed the tots to Montefiore Medical Center.
Despite urgent medical attention they died sometime after 2 am.
Police said neither of the children appeared to have signs of trauma but added that they were both asthmatic.
The deaths are still under investigation and the Medical Examiner’s office will perform an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
The building manager told NBC 4 New York the family is devastated by their deaths.
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He described the kids as "angelic and happy," and said relatives are asking for privacy as they grieve.
An estimated 24m Americans have asthma - which is 7.4 percent of all adults and 8.6 percent of children.
The condition has been increasing since the early 1980s in all age, sex and racial groups.
Approximately 250,000 people die prematurely across the world each year from asthma.
Almost all of the deaths were avoidable.
