Worker dies in freezer of Brooklyn bakery after being locked in for 5 hours

A Brooklyn bakery worker was found dead in a freezer early Thursday by co-workers arriving to work at a local company known for its legendary black-and-white cookies, police said.

Co-workers found newly hired employee Mahamadou Dansogo, 33, dead inside the popular Beigel’s Bakery on Avenue D near E. 56th St. in East Flatbush around 8 a.m. after a freak accident , according to a police source.

The immigrant victim, a father of five in his native Mali, was apparently trapped in the rotating blades of a machine while working inside the freezer, the source said.

“This guy just arrived in the United States,” said his uncle Tidiane Wague. “He tries to do like everyone else, to have a better life. He loves his job, he comes to work every day.

Dansogo lived with his family in Bedford-Stuyvesant and at work for just five months before his tragic death, according to Wague. The uncle said he was told the machine was accidentally turned on while Dansogo was at work.

“We are devastated by the loss of our employee in this accident,” Beigel manager David Greenberger said outside the store. “The family has been notified and we have offered our deepest condolences…This is an ongoing situation and we are cooperating with all investigations.”

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials arrived at the scene Thursday afternoon without commenting on the death.

Wague said his nephew was chasing the American dream when he arrived in Brooklyn.

“This guy just came to the States,” his uncle said. “He tries to do like everyone else, to have a better life.”

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Greenberger said bereavement counselors were on hand to provide “advice and support” to the man’s family and his employees.

“It’s very moving,” he added.

The popular local company, founded in the owners’ hometown of Krakow, Poland, in 1934, has become famous for its black-and-white cookies and whoopie pies.

Beigel’s moved to the Lower East Side in 1949, before moving to Brooklyn as the business, with its proudly claimed “old world sensibilities,” continued to thrive.

The company’s website touts the black-and-white candy as “New York’s signature cookie, with Beigel churning out over a hundred million to date.”

The bakery, located next to a parking lot behind a gate, was sealed off with police tape.

“He was doing his job and the accident happened,” said a man selling food from a van outside the store. “Life is short, right?”