Amazon Worker Found Dead In Sweltering Warehouse During Prime Day Was Overworked, Claims His Colleagues

An Amazon warehouse in New Jersey is being investigated on Wednesday after an employee died on the warehouse floor during Prime Day, potentially due to a heart attack that was exacerbated by the poor working conditions of the warehouse.

During July 13 and 14, which was advertised as Prime Day by Amazon to encourage its users to buy more products at a reduced price, one of the workers at Amazon’s warehouse in New Jersey was reported to have died, with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opening an investigation into the death, according to CBS News.

The man was recently identified on Wednesday as 42-year-old Rafael Reynaldo Mota Frias, who had a heart attack on the afternoon of July 13. Employees at his warehouse have put forward their belief that the harsh working conditions inside the warehouse contributed to his heart attack during Prime Day, the Daily Beast reported.

Many have pointed out that the main working area was not air-conditioned, and that the high temperature that day–which rose to 92 degrees at its hottest–could have contributed to his heart attack and eventual death.

“The cafeteria area and the offices are all air-conditioned, but where the real work happens, we get fans,” an employee said. “When it’s hot outside, you already know it’s going to be hot inside.”

“They are trying to say he had a heart attack, even if that was the case, everybody was saying it was too hot inside to be working,” another employee said.

One of the employees, who has not yet been identified, said that after Mota Frias’ death, the managers from the company started handing out water and Liquid I.V. electrolyte packets while encouraging everyone to stay hydrated.

“Why after his death have they started giving out bottled water at our stations if it [the warehouse temperature] has nothing to do with his death?” the source said.

Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson has denied the allegation that Mota Frias died due to the harsh working conditions inside the warehouse, and claims that the OSHA investigation will vindicate the company.

“There have been rumors suggesting that his passing was work-related—those statements are false. Our internal investigation has shown that this was not a work-related incident, and instead was related to a personal medical condition. OSHA is currently investigating the incident, and, based upon the evidence currently available to us, we fully expect that it will reach the same conclusion,” he said.

“They honestly need to do much much better,” one of the employees said. “It’s a trillion-dollar company. There is no reason why these facilities should not have fully air-conditioned facilities.”