Edmonton: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that four service members were killed and dozens more seriously injured in a devastating fire at a military base in Alberta, describing it as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on domestic soil.
Carney said the families of those killed had been notified and that the situation was still evolving.
The prime minister said senior military and government officials would provide a detailed account of the disaster at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright later Sunday.
The base, one of Canada’s largest, is about 210 km (130 miles) east of Edmonton in Alberta, and National Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Sunday he would go to the city to be briefed on the situation.
Carney said that Canadian flags would fly at half-staff on federal buildings across the country in honour of those affected by the tragedy.
“All Canadians stand with the service members at CFB Wainwright, their families, and their community,” Carney said.
Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the town’s small hospital was not designed to handle a mass-casualty incident but praised the response of local medical personnel. He said helicopters and planes had been transporting patients to other facilities for treatment. military was working closely with Alberta’s government and local authorities.
Cathy Keane, a mayoral candidate in Ontario, said her eldest son was among the military personnel critically injured.
“As a mother, right now I need to be with my son and family,” she wrote on Facebook, saying she was travelling to Alberta.
AP