KAMLOOPS — A woman who was inside a dumpster escaped unscathed after being lifted into the back of a Kamloops garbage truck on Monday.
The truck was on its way to empty a load at a neighbouring restaurant when the driver noticed the woman had fallen into the truck from a container, said Kamloops Fire Rescue platoon Capt. Darryl Cooper.
“By the time we got there, she was actually on top of the truck,” Cooper said, noting the woman was rescued via ladder.
Cooper said the woman, who is in her mid-30s, appeared to be uninjured, refused treatment and was left in the care of RCMP.
“I think she was very lucky,” said Cooper, adding he has heard reports of broken legs or even death resulting from people getting caught in dumpsters as they are being unloaded by truck.
If the woman hadn’t caught the driver’s attention when she did, she could have been buried under more loads of garbage, Cooper noted.
Cooper said he’s not sure why the woman was in the dumpster, but advised that people refrain from entering the structures if trying to escape the cold or looking for food. He said people should instead access a cold weather shelter or the food bank.
A man was killed in Victoria in August after he fell asleep in a cardboard-recycling bin and was crushed when it was emptied into a recycling truck.
