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A motorcycle stunt rider working on the upcoming Ryan Reynolds superhero movie Deadpool 2 has died in a crash during filming in downtown Vancouver.
A crumpled motorcycle was seen lying on its side on the pavement outside the Shaw Tower office building, where a window was smashed.
Nathan Kramchynski, who works on the seventh floor of Shaw Tower, said he watched rehearsals of the stunt outside the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The stuntwoman had been riding the motorcycle down a set of stairs from the centre and stopped when she reached the street, he said.
But when the accident happened, the driver appeared to pick up speed, crossed the street and swerved to avoid pedestrians before disappearing from his view, Mr Kramchynski said.
"She lost control really quickly," he said.
"It happened in a split second. She was going full throttle and then there's a building there."
Another witness, Sharmina Kermalli, said she had just walked into a Starbucks next door to where the accident happened when she heard a loud crash.
She ran outside and saw glass still falling on the body of the motorcycle driver.
The name of the stuntwoman was not immediately released.
Police said officers were at the scene and investigators for WorkSafeBC, the provincial workplace safety agency, were also looking into the crash.
Reynolds, a native of Vancouver, is playing the title role of Deadpool, who is a Marvel Comics superhero.
"We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of Deadpool 2 this morning," a 20th Century Fox spokesman said.
"Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time."
A stuntman died last month during production of The Walking Dead in Georgia.
He fell about seven metres onto concrete head-first after appearing to try to grab a railing to stop his fall.
AP/Reuters
Topics: film-movies, accidents, canada
First posted