The female sales assistant of a bakery in Nam Van who was hit by a falling bread shelf on Wednesday night was still in a critical condition, the Public Security Police (PSP) said yesterday.
The Fire Services Bureau (CB) announced on Wednesday night that a resident discovered by chance at around 8 p.m. that the victim, a 26-year-old non-resident worker from the mainland, was trapped between the shelf that had collapsed and a beverage refrigerator. The resident and several other passers-by lifted the bread shelf and rescued the victim.
Firemen and paramedics rushed to the scene, the Miyazaki Bakery Shop in Rua do Comandante Mata e Oliveira. They were unable to detect the victim’s heartbeat, and she was not breathing. She was rushed to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for emergency treatment, according to Wednesday night’s statement by the Fire Services Bureau.
According to a PSP statement yesterday, the victim, who is being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the public hospital, is still in a critical condition even though her heartbeat and respiration have recovered.
While PSP officers have questioned the shopkeeper, they will only be able to have an accurate picture as to how the accident happened after the victim is able to talk to the police about it, as the bakery’s CCTV camera was not working when the accident occurred, according to yesterday’s PSP statement.
The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) told public broadcaster TDM yesterday that the provisional findings of an investigation show that the shelf suddenly collapsed when the victim was removing the unsold bread from the shelf before closing up the shop, trapping her between the shelf and the fridge.
The Labour Affairs Bureau said that DSAL officials have visited the victim in the hospital. The bureau has launched a workplace accident investigation into the case and will assist the victim in claiming compensation, according to the TDM report.
The Labour Affairs Bureau has also ordered the bakery to check its bread shelves make sure they are strengthened, the TDM report said.
