Four members of the Canadian military have died and dozens were injured in a major fire at a base in the province of Alberta. Addressing the nation on Sunday from Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime".
Incident Overview
The fire broke out at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of the country's busiest military training bases, and is now contained. Its cause is still unclear, but officials stated it did not appear tied to "terrorist activity".
“"The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost," said Carney.
The BBC has confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding, and Pte Hayden Lykkemark have died. Of the 39 injured people being cared for in hospital, at least 19 are in critical condition, according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Fire Details
Fire and rescue teams are remaining at the scene to contain any potential flare-ups, as stated by Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh. Members of the infantry had been conducting "high-intensity combat training with live munitions" at a grenade range and attack range, where 10 soldiers practice attacking a simulated enemy, according to Maj-Gen Wade Rutland.
“"There was a multitude of ordnance moving through the Wainwright training area," he said, including a grenade launcher, grenades, small arms, and ammunition.
A grass fire ignited about 1km (0.6 miles) away, with the cause currently under investigation, and moved toward the attack range. Rutland noted, "What I would say is there were multiple training activities happening throughout the training area at the time. Uncommonly strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction towards the range administrative area."
