A 17-year-old boy from Ontario died after climbing a fence and falling from the edge of a cliff in a popular park in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dwayne Durban, assistant fire chief at the North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Department, said the boy was in an off-trail area of Lynn Canyon Park when the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon.

Durban confirmed that there are signs warning people to stay away from dangerous areas, but the boy's friends told firefighters that he climbed a fence to get a better view of the river valley and that he "got too close" to the edge.

He explained that the boy fell onto rocks about 50 meters down from the cliff's edge and that one of the first responders from the fire department found he had no pulse.

The teenager was supposed to start studying at the University of British Columbia this fall.

Durban said the area where he fell was "completely safe as long as you stay within the designated walking areas," and no one should jump over any fences.

He added, "People go through the fence and you can see the trails on the other side and it looks inviting, like the stunning view, but the hidden dangers are not worth the risk."