Man stuck in West Vancouver clothing bin found dead

WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – BC Coroners Service is investigating after a man in his mid-30s who was stuck in a clothing donation bin at Ambleside Park was pronounced dead.

Police say the man was found by a passerby Sunday morning.

“An off-duty physician walking in the area had found an unresponsive male stuck in the opening of a clothing donation bin,” read a release from police.

Despite efforts from BC Ambulance, police say the man could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene.

WATCH: Safer donation bin designs

 

According to the BC Coroners Service, there are currently five investigations involving clothing donation bins deaths since 2015.

“Certainly we’ll continue to monitor the situation and again one of our goals is to investigate and if there’s an opportunity to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths that’s a responsibility we take very seriously,” adds Andy Watson with the Coroners Service.

“No indication of foul play has been identified,” read the release from police. “The cause of death has not yet been confirmed.”

The family of the 34-year-old has been notified.

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Meanwhile, the Union Gospel Mission says it’s devastating that another life has been lost. Nicole Mucci with the UGM says if the bins were thought of as products the general population used, they’d have been recalled.

“One of the things that we need to consider is that if our most vulnerable population are being consistently harmed, why are we not considering at the very least, pulling these bins until a re-design is done,” she says.

She’d like to see manufacturers or the organizations that use the bins take action.

-With files from Martin MacMahon and Alison Bailey