'Serious incident' at Canada base causes deaths, sparks fire: govt

Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty said late on Saturday there were “fatalities and injuries” following an incident at a military base in western Canada.

“I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” identified as Wainwright in Alberta, McGuinty said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had posted to X earlier on Saturday that “a serious incident creating a major fire” had occurred at the base.

Neither offered details on the number of casualties or the nature of the incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, located about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

“We will have more to say in the coming hours and days,” McGuinty said.

CFB Wainwright is one of the busiest Army bases in Canada.

A doctor at a hospital in the city of Edmonton, about 200 km northwest of the base, told public broadcaster CBC that Wainwright’s health-care facilities were “completely overwhelmed” by the number of patients requiring care.

“It is more patients than any of us want to count right now,” Warren Thirsk said. “It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster.”

The Municipal District of Wainwright posted on social media that the fire had “spread rapidly due to high winds.”

It said later on Saturday that the blaze was “being held at this time,” though firefighting crews would continue to monitor the area.

Carney said the government was working closely with Alberta officials and local authorities.

“Our thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected,” he said on X.

The fire also disrupted advance voting ahead of Monday’s referendum on a future poll on whether Alberta wants independence from Canada. Alberta’s office responsible for overseeing provincial elections said the advance voting station in Wainwright had closed.

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