The name of the 19-year-old Walmart worker who was discovered dead in a walk-in oven in Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday has been made public.
The exact reason she died has not been made public yet. On a GoFundMe page set up to help the victim’s family, the Maritime Sikh Society of Nova Scotia said that Kaur “burned to death.”
The family-approved GoFundMe page says that Gursimran Kaur and her mother, who are both from India, worked at the Walmart store for two years.
At some point during their shift at Walmart on October 19, Kaur and her mother lost touch with the victim’s mother for about an hour.
The victim’s family said that she checked with coworkers and was told that Kaur must be somewhere in the store. However, Kaur’s phone was also turned off, which made her mother worried.
Kaur, a Sikh from the Halifax area, still had not been heard from after a few hours. That is when her mother checked the Walmart walk-in oven and found her daughter’s “charred remains,” as the memorial page for the victim says.
It is still not clear how Kaur got into the oven. According to the audio recording of the disturbing 911 call, the caller said a woman was “locked in an oven in the bakery.” The caller did not know if workers were “able to turn it off.” The police said Kaur was dead at the scene.
The bakery was given a stop-work order, and Walmart said the store will be closed until further notice. The company said in a statement that workers will be paid until the investigation is over or that other work plans will be made.
In their statement, Walmart also said, “We are heartbroken and our thoughts are with our associate and their family.” Our main goal is still to look out for our employees and give them the help they need.
It is still not clear what kind of oven was used in the Walmart restaurant. To make things even stranger, sources told the CBC that it could not be locked but was big enough for someone to get inside.
The police in the area said, “The investigation is complicated.” Police said, “We just want to ask the public to be patient with our investigation and keep in mind that family members and coworkers are involved.”
They also said, “We urge people to be careful about sharing rumors on social media.”
Balbir Singh, who is the head of the Maritime Sikh Society in Nova Scotia, says that Kaur and her mother came to Canada three years ago.
On their GoFundMe page, the family says that Kaur’s father and brother are still in India and that the money raised will help them get to Canada.
Singh also said, “This is a very sad event that has hurt everyone deeply. We are now waiting for the police investigation to be finished.”
We would like to know what happened to this girl. Singh also told people not to believe internet stories until more official information comes out.
Global News says that walk-in ovens, which are also known as cabinets or large ovens, are used to cure, dry, or bake in groups using racks or carts with wheels.
They are often used in restaurants that make a lot of bread, like Walmart.
According to The Washington Post, some are too small for a person, especially when there are baked goods inside, and a lot of them have safety features to keep people from getting hurt.
The Maritime Sikh Society described Kaur as “a young, beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams.” They also said, “What this family is going through is unbearable and beyond words.” They need your help to get through this terrible time.