One person has been killed and two others injured in a fire in a hotel room in the east center of the city, officials said Saturday morning.
According to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, the fire broke out around 7 a.m. on the second floor of the Empress Hotel on East Hastings Street, near Main Street.
More than 25 firefighters were needed to fight the blaze.
“The main investigation of the fire investigation branch mentioned that there was an overload of a battery that caused an explosion in (a) suite.” Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service Assistance said Chief Walter Pereira.
Damage to the building was limited to the individual suite.
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The man’s body was found in the alley next to the hotel.
Investigators said they are investigating whether he jumped or was thrown from the building.
“Unfortunately, we have one death. He ended up coming out of a second-floor window,” Pereira told Global News on Saturday.
“He may have fallen or lost his footing and fallen out the window.”
An explosion of a bicycle battery is being investigated as a possible cause and the Vancouver Police Department has opened an investigation into the incident.
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