WAINWRIGHT, Alberta — People have been killed and injured in a “serious incident” that set off a major fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of Canada’s busiest military training bases, Defence Minister David McGuinty said Saturday night.
“I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” McGuinty told reporters, describing the situation as “active and delicate.” He gave no casualty figures or cause, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation and added, “I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,” as The Guardian reported.
The Canadian Armed Forces said details of casualties would not be released until the full impact had been assessed, BBC News reported. Canadian network Global News, citing unnamed military sources, reported that at least seven people were killed and dozens injured when a gas line or gas well was hit during a live-fire training exercise; officials have not confirmed that account.
The fire broke out around 4 p.m. local time Saturday and “spread rapidly due to high winds,” crossing the base’s fence, the Municipal District of Wainwright said, as gusts of up to 100 km/h swept the province. By 11 p.m. the municipality said the fire was being held, and no evacuation order was issued, ABC News (Australia) reported.
Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, 180 km away, declared a code orange. “It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster,” emergency physician Dr. Warren Thirsk told CBC News. Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said he believed it would become the area’s largest-ever mass-casualty event.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said a serious incident had created a major fire at the base and that “our thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected.”
Gen. Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, called it a “profoundly difficult moment” for the military, and Saskatchewan and British Columbia offered help. About 690 military personnel and 300 civilian workers are on the base on a typical day, according to CBC.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, ABC News (Australia)
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