A nine-month-old baby girl tragically died when she was left unattended in a pool while robbers tied her mum up and robbed their home at the rural parish of San Pedro de Suma in the Ecuadorian province of Manabi on Saturday, Nov. 20.

Angelica Murillo was reportedly bathing her daughter Maria in an inflatable pool on their patio when two men arrived at her house by motorbike. According to a report from The Sun, they introduced themselves as from a dog vaccination program.

However, the mum refused to let them in when she told them that she has no pets. The men left but returned later. This was when they reportedly barged into the property and robbed the place. They first snatched the baby from Angelica's arms and dumped her back in the pool.

The thieves forced the mother to hand them money. They stole £748 from her and continued to search the place. They tied Angelica up before they proceeded to raid the house. They reportedly only made a dash out of the house when they heard a motorbike in the distance.

Angelica kicked and screamed for help after the burglars left. It was said that her cries were loud enough to be heard by her 12-year-old daughter who had been playing at a neighbour's house. The young girl arrived at her home to find her baby sister floating in the inflatable pool.

She also saw her mother tied up and she immediately helped free her. The frantic mum rushed to Maria to try to revive her but she had sadly already died from drowning. Police are reportedly yet to identify and arrest the two suspects.

Household robberies in Ecuador are nothing new. They are one of the prevailing crimes in the country and even saw an increase of 14 percent in cases since last September. The burglary at Angelica's home that led to the death of her baby is just one of the many widespread criminal problems in the country. It happened just days after Ecuador's president Guillermo Lasso renewed a 30-day state of emergency in nine of its 24 provinces, which sees the presence of military patrols on the streets to help curb crime-related violence and cases.

Crime scene
Representation. Police arrested 31-year-old Edielson Santos Vidal after the body of his 22-year-old partner, Jackeline de Costa Melo, was found in their home. Photo: Pixabay Pixabay