Young woman dies at "Occupy Vancouver" site
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Xinhua, November 6, 2011
Vancouver police confirmed Saturday that a woman in her 20s died in a tent at the "Occupy Vancouver" protest site.
The woman was found in an unresponsive state in a tent and was taken to hospital where she was declared dead.
Neither the victim's name nor the cause of death was released.
About 100 people held a candlelight vigil for the dead woman.
It was the second major incident at the camp in the past couple of days after a man overdosed at the site on Thursday. He later recovered.
Speaking to media outside the Vancouver Art Gallery where the protestors have been camping since Oct. 15, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson said he would direct the city manager "to expedite a peaceful resolution to end the encampment."
With a civic election two weeks away and increasing public sentiment to see the tent city removed, Robertson admitted that the camp was "a difficult and complex situation."
He gave no timeline for its removal.
Occupiers at the camp, who have been conducting daily protests against such things as corporate greed, global warming and the growing income gap, earlier this week declared the site an "autonomous self ruling state" and vowed to stay put.
City councilor Suzanne Anton, who is running against Robertson for mayor, had opposed the camp in the city's downtown core from the start.
"This is a very sad event," Anton wrote in a statement about the death. "My thoughts are with the family of this young woman and with the Occupy Vancouver community."
She added that it is time for the tents to be taken down.
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