People killed and injured after incident and major fire at Canadian military base in Alberta

People have been killed and injured in an incident that caused a major fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, Canada’s Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Saturday evening, Canadian time.

“I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” Mr McGuinty told a news conference in Ottawa, according to CBC News. “I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory.” He did not say how many people had died or been hurt, or what caused the incident. CBC reported that the RCMP, Canada’s national police, is investigating.

The base is about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. CBC said the fire started in a training area. The Municipal District of Wainwright said the fire crossed the base fence and was being actively managed, and it set up an emergency coordination centre. Global News reported wind gusts of up to 100 km/h in parts of the province.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called it a “serious incident creating a major fire” and said he was in close contact with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Ms Smith said the fire was “affecting many of our brave military personnel.”

Alberta MP Dane Lloyd said he had heard of “significant casualties” after an explosion and fire. Officials had not confirmed an explosion or any casualty figures as of 2.55pm AEDT on Sunday.