A little girl was buried up to her neck in sand, by her mum and dad so they could leave her alone and have sex in the sea.
The couple, both 29, was spotted by witnesses cavorting around on the beach before putting on an "obscene display" and spending time in the ocean.
The two-year-old girl was abandoned as temperatures soared to more than 35°c, leaving her suffering burns and sunstroke.
Witnesses reportedly called the police after the pair kissing and fumbling on the sand while the toddler was immobilised on the beach.
They were held after resisting arrest when officers reached the scene.
Drugs including cannabis, ecstasy and 200 sedative Rivotril pills were found in the mum’s handbag, police say.
The child, who was said to be “hungry and sunburnt” when she was rescued after nearly 45 minutes in her sand-trap, was taken into temporary care.
The incident happened on Monday at a beach in the Atlantic Ocean resort of Santa Clara del Mar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The couple at the centre of the shocking episode have not been named.
The father is Argentinian but his partner is said to be Paraguayan.
A second man who had been on the beach with them is said to have fled before police arrived.
A source told respected Argentinian newspaper Clarin: “It was about 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35°c) so imagine what that poor little girl was like.”
