Teenager falls to his death at Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver - Action News
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British Columbia

Teenager falls to his death at Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver

A teenager who was originally from Windsor, Ont., fell to his death at Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver on Sunday, according to fire officials.

Fire official says 17-year-old was about to start school at University of B.C.

A sign reading, 'Don't cliff jump' is posted on a fence.
A 'Don't cliff jump' sign is posted at Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver on Aug. 1. A teenager fell to his death from a cliff in the park on Sunday, according to rescuers. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)

A teenager originally from Windsor, Ont.,fell to his death at Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver on Sunday, according to fire officials.

Dwayne Derban, assistant chief of operations at District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, told CBC News that crews were called to the popular park around 3 p.m. PT on Sunday.

Derban saidrescuers realizeda youth had fallen off a cliff soon after they arrived.

The fire official saidthe 17-year-oldhad scaled a safety fence about six metresfrom the cliff's edge butslipped andfell off the cliff.

"We knew he was unconscious, but it wasn't until we were able to get a rescuer lowered down to him using a rope system that we determined that he, unfortunately, had passed away," Derbansaid in a Monday interview.

The rescuer saidthe youthfell an estimated 45 to 50 metres onto a rock slope.

Derban said the teenager was set to start school at the University of B.C. (UBC) in Septemberand his three friends also from Windsor had come to support him andget him settled,and were in the park seeing the sights.

"For them, this is a bit of a different topography than what they're used to," the assistant chief said.

"And [they] maybe just didn't realize the danger of going into the places where they ended up going."

A cliff jumper plunges into the water at Lynn Canyon.
Teenagers jump from cliffs accessed beyond a fence near Twin Bridge Falls at Lynn Valley Canyon in North Vancouver in July 2020. Officials have warned against the practice for many years. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Officials have been pleading with residents and visitors not to cliff jump at Lynn Canyon for years, saying there have been 40 deaths in the park over the last 50 years.

Derban said rescuers are often called to Lynn Canyon in the summer and there were always people pushing the envelope when it came to safety,but most of the serious issues occur when new visitors don't realize the risks.

The assistant chief was one day away from retirement when CBC News reached him on Monday.

He said the fatality on Sunday hit particularly close, as his own uncle died after falling off a cliff in Lynn Canyon in 1944.

"It's sort of a full circle [moment] coming back to a long time ago, and here it is kind of closing it in a very sad way to end," he said.

"But I'm just hoping that this might help prevent, you know, future tragedy."

With files from Liam Britten