A 19-year-old Indian immigrant, Gursimran Kaur, tragically lost her life in a workplace incident in Canada, where she was found burned to death inside a bakery oven at Walmart. Halifax Regional Police reported that they responded to a call at 9:30 pm on October 19 at Walmart on 6990 Mumford Rd., where they discovered her body inside a “large walk-in oven in the store’s bakery department.”
Authorities stated on Tuesday that the cause and manner of Kaur’s death remain undetermined, and an investigation is ongoing. Kaur and her mother had worked at Walmart for two years. On the evening of the incident, after not seeing her daughter for about an hour, Kaur’s mother began searching for her. She asked around and tried calling her, but received no response.
The community fundraiser described the mother’s anguish, stating, “Mother started panicking as it was unusual for [Kaur] to switch her phone off during the day.” The fundraiser also shared, “Imagine the horror that her mother experienced who herself opened the oven.”
The Maritime Sikh Society reported that Kaur and her mother had moved from India, while her father and brother remain there. The society is now working to bring her family to Canada. So far, over $75,000 CAD has been raised to support Kaur’s family.
Following the incident, Walmart informed NBC News that the store would be closed until further notice. Additionally, the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration issued a stop-work order for the bakery and specific equipment on Tuesday.
