Explosion and fire at Alberta military base kill at least four service members, injure dozens

At least four Canadian service members were killed and dozens more were seriously injured after an explosion and fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and 6abc Action News.

The death toll differs across reports. 6abc reported that Global News, citing multiple military sources, put the number of dead at seven or more earlier on Sunday. Carney called the disaster "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime," 6abc reported.

The cause is under investigation, and Canada's Department of National Defence said there were no signs of terrorism, both outlets reported. The Inquirer said Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation. According to 6abc, Canadian Armed Forces sources told Global News the blast happened during a live-fire training exercise when a gas line or gas well was struck. Officials have not confirmed that account.

Police were called shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday about a fire in a training area of the base, the Inquirer reported. Strong winds, with gusts reaching 62 mph across much of the province, pushed the flames past the base and into nearby rural land. By 11 p.m., the local municipal district said the fire was being held, property and critical infrastructure were protected, and no evacuation order had been issued, according to the Inquirer.

The number of injured strained hospitals across the region. The Inquirer reported that several Alberta hospitals declared a "Code Orange" mass-casualty alert and that very few ambulances were available in the Edmonton area, about 112 miles from the base. Warren Thirsk, an emergency physician at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News, "It's a disaster. It's a one in every 15- to 25-year disaster," the Inquirer reported.

Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the small town's hospital was not built for an event of this size and that helicopters and planes were moving patients elsewhere, according to the Inquirer. The town has roughly 7,000 residents.

Carney said families of those killed had been notified and ordered flags on federal buildings lowered to half-staff, the Inquirer reported. The military said it would not release casualty figures until relatives were informed.

The fire also forced two advance polling stations, in Lloydminster and Vermilion, to close early ahead of Monday's provincial referendum on a process that could lead to Alberta's independence, according to the Inquirer.

CFB Wainwright is among Canada's largest and busiest training bases and houses the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, both outlets reported. NATO Military Committee chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone expressed support for Canada, 6abc reported.

Compiled by True News from reporting by 6abc Action News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/213