Community members are rallying behind the family of a father of two who recently lost his life as a result of a tragic workplace accident at River’s Reach Pub.
Surrey resident Sanjeev Kainth died in hospital following an accident in the pub’s kitchen on March 22. WorkSafeBC didn’t identify the victim, but confirmed a worker fell onto a running meat slicer at about 3:30 p.m.
“The worker’s arm was nearly severed,” Trish Knight Chernecki, senior manager of media and government relations at WorkSafeBC, said in an email to the Record. “Initial aid was administered on-site and the worker was extracted to hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.”
Rati Malhotra Bassi set up a GoFundMe account to raise funds for her friend Harpreet, who now has to raise her three-year-old daughter Meher and infant daughter Anaisha without her husband. In two days, the campaign has raised more than $12,000.
According to the GoFundMe page, March 22 started as a usual day, with Harpreet taking care of the kids and Sanjeev getting ready to go to work. In a week’s time, 625 people had contributed more than $37,000 to the fundraiser.
“He left at his usual time. Little did the family know they were seeing their loving father, a caring husband and their only provider for the very last time,” she wrote. “Sanjeev called Harpreet up around 2:30 p.m., joyously narrating how one of his customers had tipped him with $80 CAD and what a great day at work he was having.”
An hour later, Harpreet received a call from Royal Columbian Hospital, where her husband had been taken for treatment.
“Sanjeev's arm got chopped off after being stuck in a saw machine at work that he went to turn off. He suffered immense blood loss and suffered a cardiac arrest and died later in the hospital after his heart failed to pump any more blood to his brain,” said the GoFundMe page. “The family donated his eyes as it was the only viable organ left. Her whole world just ended in a matter of minutes. She now has the responsibility of two little children and their upbringing all on her own.”
Donations will be used to help with Kainth's funeral expenses and to support the family. The goal is to raise $20,000.
“Your support would mean the world to Harpreet, Meher and Anaisha. Meher is still waiting for her father to return and is quite confused with the ongoing events. She is continually asking for him and picks up the phone to talk to him,” said the fundraising page. “None of us can replace who Sanjeev was for the family. This is an unbearable loss but your donations would definitely help incredibly to bring the family back on track.”
Liz Murphy, acting manager of River’s Reach Pub, said the pub is planning a fundraiser in Kainth’s honour, but details have yet to be finalized.
“We are going to be pairing up with the New West fire department and doing a joint fundraiser with them. They were the first responders. That’s in the works,” she said. “Other than that, it’s a painful subject.”
New Westminster Police initially attended the scene, but turned over investigation jurisdiction to WorkSafeBC investigators, after determining it wasn’t a criminal matter.
Chernecki said WorkSafeBC will do a “very thorough” investigation to determine what happened, why it happened and how such a tragic incident can be prevented from happening again in the future.
“I can’t give you a specific timeline for the investigation,” she said in an email to the Record. “They can take anywhere from three months to a year or more depending on the complexity and witness availability.”
