Canada: 19-year-old Sikh woman employee found dead inside Walmart walk-in oven in Halifax

A 19-year-old Sikh woman was found dead inside a walk-in oven of the Walmart store’s bakery department in Halifax city of Canada, police said on Wednesday.

The Halifax Police Department said it is investigating the death of the woman which occurred on October 19.

“The woman, who was an employee of the store, was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department,” Halifax Police Department said in a statement.

Police said the investigation has not yet reached a point where the cause and manner of death have been confirmed.

“The investigation is complex and involves several partner agencies. An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time,” police said.

Police did not disclose the identity of the woman so far.

Balbir Singh, the secretary of the Maritime Sikh Society, told CBC News that the society has been in touch with the mother of the 19-year-old victim and learned that the woman and her mother are originally from India and came to Canada two to three years ago.

He said the local Sikh community is distressed by the death of the woman.

“It’s a really tragic incident and everybody is deeply hurt by this, and we are waiting for the police investigation to come out,” Singh told CBC News.

He said, “We would like to know what happened to this young woman.”

Walmart store reacts

A spokesperson for Walmart sent a statement to Fox News Digital stating that the store “will be closed until further notice.”

“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family. Our focus remains on taking care of our associates and making sure they have the support they need,” a Walmart spokesperson said in the statement as quoted by the news channel.