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The Canadian military was forced to parachute troops into one of the country’s busiest bases on Saturday night after a gas explosion during a live-fire exercise triggered a blaze that left at least seven people dead.
Dramatic video shows members of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) landing by parachute at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Albert following the tragedy, which one physician described as a “one in every 15 to 25-year disaster.”
“More than a dozen CAF personnel literally parachuting into Wainwright, arriving at the local health centre to respond to the explosion and fire at the nearby Canadian Forces Base,” Jeff Semple, Senior Correspondent for Global News, wrote on X in a post sharing footage of the operation.
RCAF members can be seen stowing their parachutes after successfully landing at the base, roughly 130 miles east of Edmonton.
At least seven people are feared dead and many more injured after a gas line was accidentally struck during a live-fire training exercise triggering a wildfire, Global News reported, citing multiple military sources.
Officials called a “code orange” response protocol in Edmonton to help care for the high number of patients coming from the base, while the general public was urged to avoid the University of Alberta Hospital emergency department, CBC reported.
“It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster,” Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC.
The mayor of Wainwright said he feared the tragedy was the largest mass casualty event his community had ever seen.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the incident had affected “many of our brave military personnel,” while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also described the fire as “serious.”
None of the dead have been named yet as authorities continue to contact the next of kin.
CFB Wainwright covers roughly 235 square miles, and is one of the largest and busiest military training areas in Canada.
Forces often train in open fields or forested areas, or in buildings constructed to replicate fighting in urban warfare conditions.