Autopsy shows toddlers killed by washing machine

An autopsy has ruled out foul play in the deaths of the two toddlers whose bodies were found in a washing machine, police in east China's Jiangxi province said on Wednesday.

A police investigation was launched after online suspicions were raised on the case of the two girls, aged two and three, who police said died after crawling into the washing machine on September 21.

According to a statement by the public security bureau of the provincial capital of Nanchang, the two girls died of chest injuries and heart and lung failure, a result of the machine's high-speed spinning.

It said the police found no murder motives on the parents, who "adored their daughters," and also ruled out the possibility that they were murdered by someone who broke into the house.

Earlier reports said the tragedy happened when the toddlers were playing at home in Qiaoshe Township, Xinjian County, when their mother was cooking and their father was listening to music.

The incident has started discussion online, as netizens questioned how a washing machine could hold two toddlers and still be operational.

Police said they have experimented with the Haier washing machine model involved and found that it was possible that two children with the similar height and weight of the deceased girls crawled into the machine and closed the cover from inside. The machine could start spin-drying in this condition, the statement said.