Photo: Contributed

British Columbia's police watchdog has been called in to investigate the death of a woman who was in the custody of Vancouver police.

The Independent Investigations Office says in a statement that officers arrested the woman on Saturday morning and took her to police cells.

It says that at about noon, the woman was found unresponsive in her cell.

Life-saving measures were taken, but she was pronounced dead.

The office says it will investigate to determine what role, if any, officers may have played in the woman's death.

It didn't say why she was arrested.