Children die of carbon monoxide poisoning in pickup

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Three young children riding in the camper shell of their family's pickup truck died early Monday morning from carbon monoxide poisoning.

A 21-month-old boy, 2-year-old girl and 6-year-old girl were pronounced dead at Los Angeles-area hospitals, authorities told CNN.

The family of five had just completed the seven-hour trip from San Francisco early Monday when the parents tried to wake their children. The parents had checked on the children shortly after 5.a.m. and all three children seemed fine. But by the time they arrived at their destination, shortly after 6 a.m. all three had stopped breathing, authorities said.

Authorities said paramedics arrived at the scene and performed CPR on the children before transporting them to the hospitals. The parents, who were in the front of the truck, were not affected by the fumes.

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