Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that four service members were killed and dozens more seriously injured in a fire during a military training at a base in Alberta, calling it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on domestic soil.
In a televised address, Carney said the families of those killed had been notified and that the situation was still evolving.
He said the victims were taking part in military training when the fire broke out Saturday. Carney ordered flags to fly at half-staff on federal buildings nationwide in their honour.
Those affected included reservists and soldiers from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, one of the country’s most storied regiments.
The personnel had travelled from bases across Canada to train at Wainwright. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured, but Carney said the wounded were being treated in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary.
Military says cause of incident under investigation
Fire crews rushed to Canadian Forces Base Wainwright late Saturday as fierce winds pushed flames beyond the base and into the surrounding rural area.
The Canadian military said Sunday there were no indications the incident was an act of terrorism, but the cause remains under investigation.
A doctor at a hospital in Edmonton, 180 kilometres (112 miles) northwest of the base, told Canada’s national broadcaster that patients were sent to hospitals across the city because healthcare facilities near the base were “completely overwhelmed.”
Acute Care Alberta said several hospitals across the province had activated a “Code Orange,” an emergency designation used when multiple severely injured patients need coordinated care.
The agency said emergency medical resources were stretched so thin that very few ambulances were available in the Edmonton area. Late Saturday, at least 10 ambulances were parked in and around the Wainwright health centre as paramedics and soldiers rushed about. The town of Wainwright has about 7,000 residents.
RelatedThe fire also disrupted advance voting ahead of Monday’s referendum on whether Alberta should begin a process that could lead to independence from Canada.
Elections Alberta said the advance polling location at Wainwright Communiplex closed early Saturday, and ballots and election materials were transported securely. It named polling locations in Lloydminster and Vermilion as alternatives.
