Police say they are investigating what led up to a 30-year-old man falling down a garbage chute to his death at a North Toronto apartment building Tuesday night.
It happened at 140 Erskin Avenue in the Eglinton-Mount Pleasant avenues area at around 10 p.m.
At the time, police said they believed the man had fallen from the 9th floor.
Firefighters arrived on scene and extricated him from an area of the chute where trash is compacted. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance without vital signs where he was later pronounced dead.
The victim’s identity has not been released.
Police tape could be seen tied across the door that leads to the garbage chute in the building as of Wednesday morning. A sign posted the door written by management indicates that the chute has been locked "due to an emergency."
Acting staff Sgt. Chazz Stern said the circumstances of the incident are still unclear but that their investigation is ongoing.
“At this point in time we don’t believe there is foul play involved,” he told CTV News Toronto. “Until the coroner has completed their autopsy, it’s still an open case.”
On Wednesday morning, neighbours of the victim struggled to understand how something like this could have happened.
“It was very dramatic,” one neighbour said. “I heard a guy crying, he said he was his brother.”
“I can’t believe it,” said another. “If it was a kid I could understand, but not an adult. How could an adult?”
Police are trying to determine whether or not it was an accident.
