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Tributes flow for worker killed in Woolworths store: ‘A beautiful soul’

A NSW woman is being remembered as a “beautiful soul” who touched “so many lives” following her tragic death while working at Woolworths last week.

Police say Malerato Harrison was killed in a “tragic incident” when she was crushed by cleaning equipment that reversed onto her at around 7.30am on Friday. Emergency services rushed to the supermarket in Newcastle but were unable to save her.

Yahoo News Australia understands that Ms Harrison was working for a third-party cleaning firm at the time that provides specialist services for the store. SafeWork NSW and NSW Police are now investigating her death.

Malerato Harrison.
Police say Malerato Harrison died after she was crushed by cleaning equipment that reversed onto her inside the Woolworths store in Jesmond, Newcastle. Source: Facebook

‘You’ll always be in my heart’

Ms Harrison leaves behind her husband Glen and his two children, as reported by Nine News. Hailing from South Africa, she had been in the process of applying for her Australian citizenship and had just passed her test in the days before she died.

While she was a trained beautician, friends say Ms Harrison was working three jobs to make ends meet.

“RIP Malerato Harrison,” one person wrote on Facebook. “You were a force of nature. Overcoming, pushing forward and helping everyone along the way.”

“No words can describe the feeling that I have,” said another. “You were the most bubbly person I know. You’ll always be in my heart.”

“I still can’t believe I’ll never see your big beautiful smile in person again or hear your laugh,” someone else said.

Malerato Harrison.
Friends have described Malerato Harrison as a 'force of nature,' helping everyone along the way. Source: Facebook

Others wrote of their devastation at hearing the news.

“Such a beautiful soul, taken away too soon,” one person said. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” added another. “We really lost a beautiful angel, a sister to all, my heart is deeply hurt.”

“We hear it always, life is short, live your life, bla bla bla, until life throws you onto the floor,” someone wrote. “We recently met up in Sydney, after 10 years of not seeing each other (life happens right). The day was magical, as if those 10 years did not exist.”

“You will be forever missed,” said another. “Fly high, my friend, until we meet again.”

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