A City of Vancouver arborist was killed while removing tree limbs in Connaught Park in Kitsilano Thursday morning.
The city worker was in a boom-mounted bucket off the ground when a “large diameter tree limb” crushed him against the interior of the bucket, according to WorkSafeBC.
The Vancouver Park Board said the victim was part of a five-person team working to remove a tree that had a root failure. They were cutting a branch when it snapped off, according to the board.
Cameron McCabe, a teacher at nearby Kitsilano Secondary School, said he came outside during the morning break to a large presence of police and ambulances in the park.
McCabe said there was a lot of blood on the cherry picker the worker had been in.
“There was a very large branch that had been partially cut by a chainsaw and then the rest you could see just snapped off,” he told CTV Vancouver.
Mark Morissette came out of his house when he heard a commotion in the park.
“The fellow was in the bucket with a tree literally on him… a branch lying across him,” he said.
“You could tell it was a serious accident.”
The injured man was rushed to hospital but did not survive.
WorksafeBC and the Vancouver Police Department are now investigating.
The person's name is being withheld pending next of kin notification.
“Our warmest thoughts of sympathy go out to the family, friends and colleagues of the staff member,” said a statement from the city.
The victim had over a decade of arborist experience, according to the park board, who estimate this is the first city worker fatality in three decades.
