Walmart employees have expressed confusion over the tragic death of a 19-year-old staff member inside an oven because they usually “can’t close it” on their own.
In a series of TikTok videos, staff and former employees have been sharing insights about the inner mechanics of work inside a Walmart bakery.
It comes in the wake of the tragic death of Gursimran Kaur last weekend. The 19-year-old was trapped inside the oven of the store where she worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Her own mother, who also worked at the store, found her “charred remains” inside after more than an hour searching for her in the shop, a family spokesperson said.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” a Walmart employee named Mary said in a TikTok video showing the oven.
In a TikTok video, a Walmart employee demonstrated how much force was needed to close the oven.
Gursimran Kaur, 19, tragically died at the Halifax superstore where she worked in Nova Scotia on Saturday night.
Mary said the door “doesn’t close” and was “designed not to do that” when the door is simply pushed closed. Instead, there has to be significant force to close the door.
‘This door doesn’t close by itself… It doesn’t lock. It is designed not to do that. You have to push it, listen to the click.
Mary demonstrated how to enter the oven and use the emergency release from inside the oven, showing that it is a simple push function on the other side of the door.
“I’m not trying to theorize or form a conspiracy, it’s just hard to understand when Walmart bakery ovens are so safe to use,” he said in a comment.
His video has been viewed 3.6 million times and sparked a flood of responses from other Walmart employees across the country, who agreed that the oven should not have been able to close easily.
Another bakery worker previously said the interior safety lock is metal, meaning it would get very hot when the oven was turned on.
Police are investigating Kaur’s death and the Walmart hypermarket remains closed more than a week after the tragedy.
It is still unclear how Kaur got trapped inside the oven.
A dispatch call first reported by DailyMail.com earlier this week revealed that there was a “female employee locked in a bakery oven.
‘The oven is on. “I’m not sure if the staff can turn it off,” the dispatch officer warned.
Kaur’s mother, who worked at Walmart along with her daughter, made the distressing discovery after conducting a frantic search for Kaur in the store.
A colleague noticed a “leak” coming from the oven.
“Imagine the horror her mother experienced, opening the oven herself,” a family spokesperson said in a statement. GoFundMe appeal.
“As you all know, his charred remains were found inside the bakery oven after a few hours.”
Kaur’s mother is reportedly “traumatized” by the discovery.
While the exact brand of oven involved in the incident has not yet been revealed, other Walmart stores in the United States are known to have ovens like the one pictured installed.
“The sufferings of this family are unimaginable and indescribable,” the executive of the Sikh Maritime Society said in the appeal.
Kaur has been remembered as a “beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams.”
Walmart officials said in a statement: “We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and his family.” We extend our deepest condolences to those who were closest to them.
“We are also supporting our associates during this incredibly difficult time and have provided them with access to 24/7 virtual care and will provide on-site support, including grief counseling.”