Teenager falls to his death at Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver

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

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

Derban reported that upon arrival, rescuers quickly realized that a youth had fallen off a cliff.

The fire official explained that the 17-year-old had climbed over a safety fence located about six metres from the cliff's edge but slipped and fell.

"We knew he was unconscious, but it wasn't until we were able to lower a rescuer down to him using a rope system that we confirmed, unfortunately, he had passed away," Derban said in an interview on Monday.

The rescuer noted that the youth, originally from Windsor, Ontario, fell an estimated 45 to 50 metres onto a rocky slope.

Derban added that the teenager was set to begin school at the University of British Columbia in September, and his three friends, also from Windsor, had accompanied him to help him settle in and were exploring the park.

"For them, this is a bit of a different topography than what they're used to," the assistant chief said. "[They] maybe just didn't realize the danger of going into the places where they ended up going."

Officials have been urging both residents and visitors to refrain from cliff jumping at Lynn Canyon for years, noting that there have been 40 deaths in the park over the past 50 years.

Derban mentioned that rescuers are frequently called to Lynn Canyon during the summer, with people often pushing safety boundaries, but that most serious incidents involve new visitors who may not fully understand the risks.

The assistant chief, who was just one day away from retirement when CBC News contacted him on Monday, shared that the fatality on Sunday was particularly poignant for him, as his own uncle had 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, closing in a very sad way," he said. "But I'm just hoping that this might help prevent, you know, future tragedy."