Children aged 1 & 2 saved from sweltering car; Parents on the beach

Two children were rescued from a locked, hot car left in a parking lot on Sunday afternoon in Wijk aan Zee, police said. The one- and two-year-old were spotted by a passerby, who notified police.

The parents were at the beach at the time of the response. It was not clear how long the children were left by themselves.

"An attentive reporter saw that two small children were dazed in a closed and warm car," police said. Paramedics and police officers were dispatched to the scene, and they knocked in a window to get the children out of the car. "According to the ambulance service, it could not have lasted much longer given their condition."

The parents arrived a short time later, and claimed they were monitoring the children using a camera. The parents "were initially angry because of the broken window," police said. The father and mother were arrested, and the crisis team at family services organization Veilig Huis were notified of the incident.

The high temperature in the Noord-Holland village was 22.5 degrees Celsius that day. At that temperature, the cabin of a closed car can heat up to 33 degrees in just 10 minutes. It will reach 41 degrees in a half-hour, and 46 degrees in just over an hour.

Authorities did not disclose when the incident took place, but records show two ambulances were dispatched to Rijckert Aerszweg in Wijk aan Zee just before 4:30 p.m. Parking lots are located on the street which people can use when visiting the beach there.

Police said on Tuesday that the children were doing well. A criminal investigation was underway.