Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday that four service members were killed and dozens more seriously injured after a fire broke out during military training at a base in Alberta, calling it one of the country’s worst peacetime military tragedies on domestic soil.
The erupted Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where fierce winds fueled flames that spread beyond the installation and into surrounding rural areas. Canadian military officials said there were no indications of terrorism, though the cause remained under investigation.
Carney said in a televised address that the families of the four service members killed had been notified and that the situation was still evolving.
The prime minister said those affected included reservists and soldiers from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, one of Canada’s oldest military regiments. Personnel had traveled from bases across the country to participate in training exercises at Wainwright.
Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty initially confirmed fatalities and injuries but did not provide a casualty count, .
“I cannot recall such an incident in my short time for sure as a minister, but I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,” McGuinty told reporters.
The exact number of injured service members remained unclear Sunday, with victims receiving treatment at hospitals in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary.
Several hospitals across Alberta activated a “Code Orange,” an emergency designation for mass-casualty incidents, as medical personnel scrambled to treat the wounded.
“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News. “It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster.”
MARINE CORPS OSPREY CATCHES FIRE DURING EXERCISE IN NORTH CAROLINA; 4 INJURED
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said officers responded to reports of a fire in a training area at the base shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters battled intense winds, with gusts reaching up to 62 mph, as flames spread beyond the installation.
By late Saturday, local officials said the fire was being held and that property and critical infrastructure were protected. No evacuation order had been issued for nearby residents.
McGuinty said the RCMP was involved in investigating the incident, describing the situation as “very, very active and delicate.”
Carney announced that flags would fly at half-staff on federal buildings nationwide in honor of those killed and injured. He also praised emergency crews who battled the flames through the night.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
