A man was found dead in Nanaimo’s tent city on Sunday morning, RCMP said.
The person’s identity has not been released. He was not from Nanaimo.
Police said Monday that they have referred the case to the B.C. Coroners Service.
The coroners service said in a statement that it is in the early stages of an investigation involving the death of a man in his 20s.
If the death was due to an opioid overdose, that would be the second related to the tent city recently. A woman died from a suspected overdose several days ago.
Nanaimo’s Discontent City Facebook page said Monday that: “There was a life lost yesterday at the camp.”
The tent city was set up in mid-May and today has about 150 tents and structures, making it one of the largest in the province.
The City of Nanaimo is in B.C. Supreme Court this week seeking an injunction to move residents off the industrial site. The hearing begins today, and two days have been set aside.
Many affidavits against and in support of the tent city have been filed in court.
Running water was installed last week, and more toilets were added to the site by the city following an order from the medical health officer for the central Island. — Times Colonist
