A woman has been found dead in a parked car outside a police station and may have been inside the vehicle for days, police say.
A critical incident has been declared after police made the grim discovery in the car park of the Lake Illawarra station, south of Wollongong, at about 4.30pm on Friday.
Paramedics attended but were unable to revive the 48-year-old woman.
Early indications suggest the woman may have been in the vehicle, parked on Pioneer Drive, since about 6.30pm on Tuesday, NSW Police said in a statement.
The critical incident investigation team from the South Coast will handle the matter, to be reviewed by the Professional Standards Command and overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
The critical incident was declared due to the proximity of the scene to the police station. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Amid a heatwave stretching along the NSW coast, temperatures reached almost 38 degrees at nearby Albion Park on Friday.
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