The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a male who died following an accident at an Osoyoos fruit farm where he had worked for the summer on Sept. 26, 2014.

He is Gabriel Gendreau-Martineau, aged 23, of St. Agathe, Quebec, a town in the Laurentians northwest of Montreal.

Mr. Gendreau-Martineau had spent the summer working on the Osoyoos fruit farm, but had concluded his work there. He was still tenting on the property prior to his planned departure later on Sept. 26, 2014.

On the morning of Sept. 26, 2014, a full-time worker on the farm found Mr. Gendreau-Martineau deceased at the base of a six-metre high pile of stacked fruit crates. Preliminary investigation suggests he was climbing the stack in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2014, when the top crate came loose, causing him to fall to the parking lot below.

The BC Coroners Service and the RCMP continue to investigate this death.

The family of Mr. Gendreau-Martineau has been notified of his death. On behalf of the family, the BC Coroners Service asks that the media respect their privacy at this difficult time.

Media Contacts:

Barbara McLintock
Coroner, Strategic Programs
BC Coroners Service
250 356-9253