One person is dead and two others are hurt following a fire in a hotel room in the Downtown Eastside, officials said early Saturday morning.
According to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, the blaze ignited 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 battle the fire.
“Primary investigation from the fire investigation branch mentioned there was an overloading of a battery that caused an explosion to (a) suite.” Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service’s acting asst. chief Walter Pereira said.
Damage to the building was contained to the single suite.
The body of the man was found in the alleyway beside the hotel.
Investigators said they’re looking into whether he jumped or was thrown from the building.
“Unfortunately, we have a fatality. He ended up coming out of a second-storey window,” Pereira told Global News on Saturday.
“He may have fallen or lost his footing and fell out the window.”
A bicycle-battery explosion is being investigated as the possible cause, and the Vancouver Police Department has opened an investigation regarding the incident.
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