Toronto: Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old of Indo-Canadian descent, was tragically found dead inside a bakery oven at a Halifax WalMart. The community is in mourning as police work to investigate the incident.

The deceased, identified as Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old immigrant from India, was discovered burned in a large oven at a WalMart store in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The tragic event unfolded on October 19 in Halifax, where Kaur worked. Halifax Police reported, “The young woman, an employee at the store, was found in a large walk-in oven located in the bakery department.”

Local news sources have shared that Kaur’s mother, also an employee at the store, was the one who discovered her remains. Kaur and her mother, originally from Ludhiana, had moved to Canada from the United Kingdom three years earlier and had been working at the WalMart for the past two years.

An online fundraiser set up by the Maritime Sikh Society described Kaur as “a young, vibrant girl who arrived in Canada with big dreams.”

The fundraiser outlined the unfortunate chain of events, explaining that her mother grew worried after not seeing her daughter for an hour, especially since her phone was unreachable. When other employees downplayed her concerns, saying Kaur was likely assisting customers, her mother’s worry only grew. She reached out to store management, and hours later, employees, including her mother, found Kaur in the bakery oven. The horror her mother felt upon making the discovery was described in the fundraiser.

By Thursday evening, the fundraiser had raised over CA$164,000 to assist the grieving family and to help bring Kaur’s father to Canada. Her brother remains in India.

The Maritime Sikh Society’s president, Harjit Singh Seyan, told the Hindustan Times that both Kaur and her mother were regular attendees at the local gurdwara in Halifax. “The community is in shock; it’s deeply upsetting and tragic,” he shared.

He added that community members were offering support to the family. “We’re here to provide moral and financial assistance,” he said, noting that arrangements for psychological support had also been made for Kaur’s family and friends.

Halifax Police continue to investigate the “sudden death,” emphasizing in a statement that they have not yet determined the exact cause and manner of Kaur’s death.