Teen who died while free-climbing Wellington building named as Canadian national

Canadian Tyler Bates, 19, died in Wellington Hospital on March 25, after falling from a Wellington building he was reportedly free-climbing. Source: Gofundme

The man who fatally fell from a Wellington building earlier this week has been identified by police as 19-year-old Canadian national Tyler James Bates.

Canadian news network CBC are reporting Bates died while free-climbing the building.

The 19-year-old fell from a central Wellington building accessed off Gilmer Terrace around 2.50am on Monday, March 25.

Bates was taken to Wellington Hospital after the fall but later died there.

The 19-year-old's father, Darryl Bates, told CBC his son had been on a vacation in New Zealand with two friends, travelling from the town of Stony Plain in the province of Alberta where he lived.

"He was coming here for one month to check it all out and see how it was," Darryl Bates said from Wellington.

"And if he liked it, he was going to come back to Canada and get his visa paperwork and move here."

Gilmer Terrace in central Wellington, the street used to access the building from where a teen fatally fell.

Tyler worked in Edmonton for a ventilation company as a sheet metal worker.

Darryl Bates said his son was an avid fan of snowboarding and mountain biking

"He pushed his friends to experience life. He was never sitting still. Always on the go. So him coming to New Zealand was perfect for him," he said.

"We are so glad that he pushed it to the limits and had made those memories and made those memories for other people that we are not able to do," Darryl Bates said.

"He definitely lived to the fullest."

A Gofundme page set up four days ago by Tyler's family to bring his body home has already raised $44,590.

NZ Police said in a statement Bates' death had been referred to the Coroner.