Woman dies after getting trapped inside clothing donations bin

A woman has died after becoming trapped in a clothing donations bin on a street in Toronto.

Police received reports that of an unresponsive woman inside the container at around 1.30am local time this morning, the Toronto Star reports.

“Toronto Fire rushed to the scene and cut the donation box open to rescue the woman,” the newspaper reports. However, the 35-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It is unclear how the unnamed woman ended up inside the charity collection bin, but police are not currently treating the death as suspicious.

The tragedy has reignited an ongoing debate in Canada, where at least eight people have died inside donation bins since 2015.

“The spate of deaths has led some to call for the bins to be redesigned or removed”, state broadcaster CBC reports.

Their spring-loaded hatches are designed to prevent donations being stolen, “but they can also trap someone leaning in too far”.

Homelessness activists told the Toronto Star that the comparative shelter and comfort of clothing donations bins can tempt rough sleepers to overlook the danger of becoming trapped inside.

Last week, authorities in West Vancouver became the first to ban clothing donations bins, after a 34-year-old man was found dead inside one late last month.