The father of a baby who died after being recovered from a parked car on an industrial estate has been released after questioning by police.

Emergency services were called to the site on Vlaardingweg at around 5pm. The infant was alive but in poor health and paramedics were unable to save its life.

Police said an initial investigation indicated it was a “very tragic incident”. They confirmed that a 33-year-old man, later confirmed as the child’s father, was arrested at the scene and taken for questioning before being released.

The Telegraaf reported that a man was seen smashing the rear windscreen of the car, a grey Audi with Belgian registration plates, to try to rescue the child before the ambulance arrived.

One eyewitness told the newspaper: “We think some glass struck the baby, but to be honest I think it was too late and the baby was not getting air.”