A Woolworths store in the Newcastle suburb of Jesmond has been forced to close temporarily following the tragic death of a woman in a workplace incident on Friday morning.
Emergency services today responded to reports a female, who was reportedly a cleaner hired by a third-party company to provide cleaning services for the store, had been injured at the supermarket on Blue Gum Road, at approximately 7:30 am. Despite paramedics rushing to the scene to assist the woman, she suffered “fatal injuries” and died at the scene.
NSW Police released a statement saying that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the staff member’s death, though they did not reveal exactly how the woman died.
“Officers from Newcastle Police District have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,” NSW police said in a statement.
“Initial inquiries suggest there are no suspicious circumstances.”
Meanwhile, a Woolworths spokesman released a statement sending condolences to the woman’s family.
We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and our thoughts are with the woman’s loved ones at this difficult time,” they said in a statement released on Friday.
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“Our thoughts are with the woman’s loved ones at this difficult time,” they said, adding, “We are assisting SafeWork NSW and NSW Police as well as working with our contract cleaning partner.
“Our priority at this time is providing support to the woman’s family and our store team members,” they added.
“The Jesmond store remains closed at this time.”
Newcastle Police District has since established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.
Our thoughts are with the victim and her family at this time.
