A tragic incident occurred in Canada when 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur, an Indian teenager, was found dead inside the walk-in bakery oven at a Walmart store. As the investigation continues, CTV News reported that Walmart plans to remove the oven from the Halifax location. A company spokesperson confirmed that the oven's removal was already part of a planned store remodel, which was scheduled before Kaur's tragic death.
“This is an extremely sad and difficult situation,” company spokesperson Amanda Moss told CTV News in an email.
He added, “Removing the oven had always been part of the standard remodel program we are implementing across the country.”
Gursimran Kaur was found dead inside the oven by her mother on October 19. She had repeatedly tried to locate her daughter as it was “unusual” for the teen to switch her phone off during the day. Other employees had brushed off her concerns and suggested that Kaur might be busy helping other customers.
According to a report by The Sun, she had eventually opened the oven after someone pointed out the “leakage” spewing from it.
Walk-in ovens, also referred to as cabinet or batch ovens, allow for curing, drying or baking in batches using wheeled racks or carts. They are often found in large-volume bakeries in places such as supermarkets.
The tragic death of 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur inside a walk-in bakery oven at a Walmart store in Halifax has sparked suspicions of foul play. A Walmart employe who was Kaur's co-worker in a TikTok video said that Kaur may have been placed in the oven by another person, as it is believed to be highly unlikely that she could have locked herself inside. A Walmart employee, Chris Breezie, provided insight into the difficulty of opening the oven door, describing the latch mechanism as requiring significant force to open.
Additionally, Breezie pointed out that employees were never required to physically enter the oven for tasks, and that there was an emergency latch located inside the oven for safety.
