A 17-year-old from Ontario fell to his death while hiking in North Vancouver over the weekend.
Authorities said the teenager was out with three friends in Lynn Canyon Park on Sunday afternoon when he fell approximately 50 metres down a cliff.
Asst. Chief Dwayne Derban from District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue told CTV News the teenager had ventured off a marked trail and crossed a fence – without his friends – when the tragedy occurred.
“They encouraged him to come back,” Derban said. “He just got a little too far, just a little too close to the edge of the cliff – and although he was hanging onto a tree, he just slipped at the wrong time and went over.”
The teenager was supposed to start his first semester at the University of British Columbia next month, according to authorities.
All four of the teenagers are from Windsor, Ont. Derban said the other three were accepted to different universities outside of B.C., but had come to Vancouver to help their friend “get settled and see him off.”
“On behalf of the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue, we’d just like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of this individual,” Derban added.
The assistant chief said he hopes the incident will serve as a warning to others to follow the park’s rules and stick to the trails.
Dozens of people have died at Lynn Canyon since 1990 – including earlier this summer, when a young man was killed in a cliff-diving accident.
Derban said Sunday’s incident struck close to home for him, as his family recently marked the 80th anniversary of his uncle dying in a similar fall in the park. He was 16 years old.
“I do know, personally, the impact that a tragedy like this has on a family,” he said. “Sometimes it lasts for generations.”
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Spencer Harwood