Supermarket worker who died mid-shift covered with umbrellas as store stayed open

A supermarket worker who died mid-shift was covered up with umbrellas as the store remained open.

Unsuspecting shoppers carried on picking up their groceries unaware a man was laying dead on the floor close by.

Manoel Moisés Cavalcante died at a the Carrefour store in the city of Recife, Brazil at around 8am on Friday, August 14.

His body was left on the shop floor covered with umbrellas and surrounded by cardboard boxes while the store remained open for business.

Photos of the scene caused outrage as images went viral on social media.

Carrefour Brasil apologised on Wednesday adding that the incident was handled inappropriately.

A statement read: "The company erred in not closing the store immediately after what happened to await the funeral service, as well as in not finding the correct way to look after the body."

According to Carrefour, the man was a sales manager who fell ill inside the store.

First aid was given and an ambulance was called, but Mr Cavalcante died.

Carrefour said it "followed guidelines to not remove the body from its place".

The subsidiary of France's Carrefour SA, is one of the largest retail chains in Brazil.

Bosses say they have now changed its guidelines to include the mandatory closure of the store in future.

The statement added: "We apologise to the family and stand ready to support them in whatever way necessary."

This is not the first controversy surrounding the way Carrefour handles incidents in its stores in Brazil.

In 2018, a security guard at a store in the state of Sao Paulo killed a street dog after striking it with a metal bar, a case that caused revulsion on social media and with animal welfare groups.