At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion and fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday, Global News reported, citing multiple military sources. The Canadian Armed Forces confirmed deaths and injuries but said Sunday morning it would not release casualty figures until families have been notified.
The fire started in the base's training area around 4 p.m. local time. Strong winds pushed it past the base boundary, Defense Minister David McGuinty told reporters in Ottawa, according to The Globe and Mail. He said he could not recall anything like it in recent memory. By early Sunday, the Municipal District of Wainwright said the fire had been contained.
Officially, the cause is still unknown. Military sources told Global News that a live-fire exercise hit a natural gas line or well. The armed forces have not confirmed that account.
The hospital in Wainwright, a town of a few thousand people next to the base, turned into a triage center, Mayor Bruce Pugh told CBC News. Patients were sent on to hospitals across Edmonton, about 120 miles away. An emergency physician there called it the kind of disaster that comes once every 15 to 25 years. Around midnight, military personnel parachuted onto a high school football field across the street from the Wainwright hospital to help, The Globe and Mail reported.
Saskatchewan sent emergency crews, CTV News reported. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the fire had affected many military personnel.
Wainwright is the Canadian military's main base for live-fire training, where infantry, artillery and air units drill together. The disaster comes days before Alberta votes on whether to begin a process that could lead to independence from Canada, as CBS News noted.