Hotel worker dies after getting trapped in kitchen freezer for 13 hours

A woman has died in a walk-in freezer in a hotel after getting trapped for 13 hours.

Carolyn Robinson, 61, worked in the kitchen at the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in Atlanta, one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the city.

She was seen on CCTV entering the freezer at around 8pm on Monday but was unable to get out and spent 13 hours inside the cold room.

A search for the woman began when she didn't return home after her shift and she was found shortly after 9am on Tuesday.

There was evidence she had tried to escape, Atlanta police Lt. Charles Hampton said.

"It appears that there was some type of mechanism to allow anyone who was inside to be able to exit," Hampton said.

He said that he wasn't sure if it was working properly, but there "does not appear to be any foul play."

He said that police plan to wait for a post mortem examination to determine whether the woman had any type of medical condition that may have prevented her from getting out, Hampton said.

The hotel said in a statement it was devastated by the tragic loss of its long-time worker:

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the woman's death, spokesman Michael D'Aquin said.