2 dead after tree falls on West Vancouver home

Police in West Vancouver are calling the deaths of two people in the district's Horseshoe Bay neighbourhood a "tragic accident," after a tree fell on a home overnight. (CTV)

Police in West Vancouver are calling the deaths of two people in the district's Horseshoe Bay neighbourhood a "tragic accident," after a tree fell on a home overnight.

The incident happened in the 6200 block of Wellington Avenue, according to a news release from the West Vancouver Police Department.

Officers were called to the scene for a report of "a large tree falling on houses," police said in their release. They did not specify what time the incident occurred, saying only that it happened "overnight."

"While on scene, officers noted downed Hydro wires and ruptured gas lines that were damaged as a result of the uprooted tree," police said.

Emergency responders soon confirmed the deaths of two people - a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s - inside the house.

“This appears to be a tragic accident,” said WVPD spokesperson Const. Kevin Goodmurphy, in the release.

“We are supporting the British Columbia Coroners Service as they conduct their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the loss of life,” he added. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased.”

Police said roads in the area remained closed to traffic Sunday as crews worked to remove the tree and debris.

Wind warnings were in effect for Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and Eastern Vancouver Island on Sunday, with Environment Canada warning of gusts as high as 90 kilometres per hour.

The high winds prompted the cancellation of dozens of BC Ferries sailings and knocked out power to thousands of BC Hydro customers. 

As of 2 p.m., more than 12,000 customers on northern Vancouver Island were without power. Across the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, there were more than 3,000 customers without power, with downed wires and trees blamed for many of the outages.