LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A safety foundation asked General Motors Corp. on Friday to recall its 2000-2001 sedans and refit their trunks with emergency-release latches after two Arkansas children were found dead in the trunk of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu.

Kansas-based Kids and Cars said that while Ford has installed glow-in-the-dark handles inside all trunks since 2000, General Motors offered the latches only as an option on models made before 2002.

"If these two children found themselves trapped inside a 2000 Ford trunk, they would be alive today," the group said in a statement.

GM said it was too early to say what action the company might take in the wake of deaths.

Police said it is likely that the children were playing in the trunk when it closed. Sgt. Shane Pegram said the siblings likely died of asphyxiation.