Brother, 8, and sister, 7, suffocated after locking themselves in previously recalled trunk while playing at home

Two young children tragically died Monday morning after being found Sunday night locked in a hope chest.

Lexi, 8, and Sean Munroe, 7, both of Franklin, Mass., are believed to have been playing inside the previously recalled chest around 8 p.m. near where multiple family members watched a television too loud to hear their cries for help - were tragically unaware of the children’s suffering until it was too late.

Lane Furniture, maker of the chest, issued a recall in 1996 for 12million similar chests to replace locks that automatically latched when closed, according to the Boston Globe.

Family members were home at the time of the incident, Franklin County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson David Traub said in a statement.

‘Investigation to this point indicates that the children were found by family members shortly before 8 p.m. enclosed together in a hope chest fashioned with a lid that could only be released from the outside, and not opened from within,’ he wrote.

‘Several family members were home at the time of the incident; the hope chest was in relatively close proximity to a television that was apparently on with a substantial volume at the time.’

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey told the Globe that he wasn't exactly sure which model the chest was, but said Lane Furniture recalled two models - 'Lane' and 'Virginia Maid' - to replace the self-latching locks.

The Munroe's were not chest's original owner, they bought it used more than a dozen years ago, Mr Morrissey added.

'It’s exact age and vintage is unknown at this time,' said Mr Morrissey, 'It has some type of locking mechanism that did not have the ability to be unlocked from the inside.'

The recalled chests were made between 1912 and 1987, he noted. A recall notice from 2000 showed at least one other death and two near fatalities attributed to the killer chests.

Neighbor Mary Delfino told the Boston Globe the children were the youngest of five siblings.

A search of online records shows the family has one son and four daughters – the oldest of which Ms Delfino said is in junior high school.

She said the children were rushed inside when police and ambulance arrived at the suburban home. ‘They were in bad shape… crying and really sad,’ she added.

Another neighbor told WHDH the seriousness of the situation was made apparent by the number of first responders on the scene last night.

Landlord Joe Proia was shocked over the loss.

'It’s just the saddest thing,’ he told the Globe. 'The kids are great. It’s just terribly painful.’

Neighbor Dawn Powers told the Globe she was sad her daughter lost a good friend.

'They were just wonderful kids. I can’t believe they are gone,' she lamented. 'It’s just absolutely tragic. I don’t know how the family will be able to get through this.'

‘All the fireman, those type of guys, they were all here,’ said Harold Alger. ‘They pulledin on the road over here and went in the house… they were here for I don’t know how many hours.’

Both the Franklin Police Department and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the deaths, but are operating under the assumption they are an accident, Mr Traub explained.

The medical examiner’s office will perform autopsies before confirming the cause of death, he added.