Police are saying a gas leak caused the death of a Burnaby couple who were found dead in their trailer Sunday evening.
Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Dave Reid said the 56-year-old man and 59-year-old woman were found dead in a converted work trailer they had been living in near 14th Avenue and Willard Street in South Burnaby.
"The gentleman didn't show up for work and someone from the office basically sent a coworker over to check on his well-being and the guy went into the trailer and found them," Reid said.
The coworker called the fire department who then dispatched the RCMP and emergency services. After a short investigation, police discovered the man had recently made some repairs to a propane generator, which was being vented through an exhaust window in the trailer.
"A witness we spoke to had assisted this guy, who was deceased, to actually work on the exhaust and they had done some work on the propane generator," he said. "They had closed the window while they were making repairs and they simply forgot to reopen it."
Reid said that it's still unknown whether or not the couple died Sunday, shortly before they were found, or sometime during the past two days.
"It's possible they died last night, or it's also possible they died in the preceding two days," he said. "The coroners were in attendance and it appears at this point that it is purely accidental."
Burnaby RCMP is waiting to verify the couple's identity with family before releasing any names.
