Demolition Safety Planning Fatality File

One worker dead, a second injured in partial collapse of North Vancouver building 

NORTH VANCOUVER — One person has died, and another is in hospital after a building under demolition in North Vancouver had a structural failure, causing parts of the building to collapse. Sgt.

Sgt. Peter DeVries, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman, said police received a call around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday of a construction incident.

North Vancouver RCMP attended the scene along with North Vancouver City Fire Department and B.C. Ambulance Service.

DeVries said firefighters determined one person was trapped in the rubble during the collapse and had died as a result of catastrophic injuries.

“The fire department was able to determine to a high degree that this person is deceased; however, they’re not able to bring the body out of the rubble because it is not safe to do so yet,” he said, adding that it is a very dangerous site.

DeVries confirmed that one other person had been injured and had been taken to Lions Gate Hospital. He said their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Greg Shalk, chief of North Vancouver City Fire Department, said the Can-TF1 heavy urban search and rescue task force from Vancouver Fire Rescue Services was required to assist with the next phase of the operation.

Shalk said the worker who is in hospital was operating machinery when the collapse occurred and was pulled out by fire crews.

“At this point in time, we believe that everyone else has been accounted for,” he said.

North Vancouver RCMP’s Serious Crime investigators have taken over the investigation to determine whether there was any criminality involved in the collapse.