Tesco security guard, 58, dies after choking on doughnut in front of colleagues and customers at work

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:47, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 11:51, 23 June 2026 A Tesco security guard has died after choking on a doughnut at work in front of colleagues and customers. Mohamed Nassar, 58, suffered a cardiac arrest following the incident while working at the Tesco Express store on New Bailey Street in Salford on May 8. His devastated family said he had eaten the doughnut in order to take medication he was on, which had to be ingested alongside food. But while eating it the father-of-three choked, before collapsing on the shop floor. Staff and customers were left 'screaming' after the incident, a relative said. Paramedics rushed to the scene and Mohamed was resuscitated before being taken to hospital.  But during the cardiac arrest his heart stopped for 23 minutes, leaving him severely brain damaged. Mr Nassar never regained consciousness and died on Sunday. In a statement, his family paid tribute to a 'wonderful person' who was 'deeply loved.' Mohamed Nassar, 58, suffered a cardiac arrest following the incident while working at the Tesco Express store on New Bailey Street in Salford on May 8 Father-of-three Mr Nassar suffered a cardiac arrest, and while paramedics did resuscitate him, he never regained consciousness They said: 'We are all absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the loss of Mohamed Nassar. His passing has left a huge void in our family, and we are still struggling to come to terms with what has happened. 'Before he passed, our dad spent 44 days fighting, and it was incredibly hard for us to see him like that. Throughout those difficult days, we held onto hope and never stopped believing he would pull through.' Mr Nassar and his family moved to Manchester from London in 2020.  Previously a musician, he had been employed by a third party security company for the past five years. His son Seif Abdelwaneis, 23, said his mother, Nancy Elkarnshawy, and his sisters Nariman, 28, and Malak, 14, were left in a state of shock when they received a phone call telling them he had collapsed at work. The family said they were 'overwhelmed' by the 'love, prayers, and support from so many people' during his time in hospital and that they 'want to sincerely thank everyone who kept him in their thoughts and prayers.' 'Your kindness, encouragement, and support meant so much to us during the hardest time of our lives' they said in their statement issued following his death. 'As a family, we are not only grieving but are also facing significant financial difficulties as a result of this tragedy. We continue to search for legal assistance and support but have unfortunately had little luck to date. 'Above all, we want people to remember him for the wonderful person he was. He was deeply loved by his family and friends, and his loss is felt every day. We miss him terribly and will carry his memory with us always.' Manager of the Manchester Bailey Express Tesco store, Osarugue Onaghise said: 'On behalf of all our colleagues at our Manchester Bailey Express store, we remain deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Mohamed. 'Our thoughts remain with his family and friends at this difficult time.'  A fundraiser set up in aid of the family following the incident is still running with the family saying they will now put the proceeds towards funeral costs and supporting themselves financially in his absence. It has so far raised more than £16,000. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.