Man who fell ill at work found dead in forest after boss dropped him there rather than call ambulance

Employer reportedly feared being caught with undocumented workers

A man who fell ill at work has been found dead in a forest after his boss dropped him off there rather than call an ambulance.

Vasyl Chorny's body was discovered in western Poland by a forester on 13 June, but was only reported this week by Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

The newspaper said Chorny, a Ukrainian man, was working in a coffin workshop illegally, which was why his employer did not call emergency services.

The 36-year-old reportedly became weak and started convulsing before fainting in the hot and fuel-filled carpenters' workshop in the western village of Jastrzebsko Stare.

Colleagues told authorities the workshop owner, identified only as Grazyna F due to privacy laws, banned them from calling an ambulance because she feared being caught with undocumented workers.

The woman was arrested last week and charged with unintentionally causing Chorny's death. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

The case highlights the vulnerability of many Ukrainians working in Poland, where a booming economy has attracted workers from its struggling eastern neighbour.

Some 1.2 million Ukrainians are officially registered in Poland but migration experts believe that hundreds of thousands more could be working there illegally.

Additional reporting by AP