British Columbia

Man found dead in Surrey clothing donation bin

Surrey RCMP are investigating after a man was found dead in a clothing donation bin Tuesday morning.

Victim appears to have gotten stuck attempting to get inside the bin, said police

A man was pronounced dead in Surrey, B.C. this morning after being found trapped in a clothing donation bin. (Shane MacKichan)

Surrey RCMP are investigating after a man was found dead in a clothing donation bin Tuesday morning.

A passerby called 911 at about 6:45 a.m. PT after seeing the victim caught in the bin in Surrey's Guildford neighbourhood, said police.

The BC Coroners Service said a man was pulled from the bin and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not confirmed the man's identity, and the cause of his death remains under investigation.

Cpl. Scotty Schumann of the Surrey RCMP said the man appears to gotten stuck attempting to get inside the bin. He said rescue workers had to cut the bin open to free the man's body.

"Most of these bins are designed in such a way to make it very difficult for people to remove donations that have been dropped off," Schumann said. "This wouldn't be the first person who would have gotten trapped attempting to do that."

On August 4, Surrey firefighters rescued a woman stuck in a similar donation bin overnight. Last September, a 45-year-old woman died after getting stuck in a donation bin in Pitt Meadows.

With files from Farrah Merali and the Canadian Press.