Over ₹1 crore has been raised to support the family of Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old Walmart employee who tragically died after becoming trapped in a walk-in oven at a store in Halifax, Canada. Kaur’s charred remains were discovered inside the oven on Saturday evening, prompting an outpouring of grief and support from the community.
Gursimran Kaur and her mother both worked at the Walmart location. When Kaur’s mother noticed that her daughter had been missing from the sales floor for over an hour, she began searching for her. A fundraiser organized by the Maritime Sikh Society revealed that despite her mother asking several colleagues about Kaur’s whereabouts, many assumed she was helping a customer.
After numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach her daughter by phone, Kaur’s mother began to panic, noting it was unusual for her daughter to turn off her phone during work hours. It was only when someone pointed out a “leakage” coming from the walk-in oven that Kaur’s mother opened it, leading to the devastating discovery.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by the Maritime Sikh Society initially set a goal of CAD 50,000 but has since raised over CAD 194,000 (more than ₹1.1 crore) for Kaur’s family in India. The campaign emphasizes the unimaginable suffering the family is enduring, urging people to contribute to help them through this horrific time.
Gursimran and her mother, originally from Ludhiana, India, moved to Canada from the United Kingdom three years ago and began working at Walmart about two years ago. Kaur’s father and brother remain in India, and it is believed that part of the funds raised will be used to bring them to Canada. The investigation into how the 19-year-old became trapped in the oven, which cannot be locked from the outside, is ongoing, and the Walmart outlet has temporarily closed its doors to customers.
