People were killed and injured when an explosion led to a major fire at the Canadian military's Wainwright base in Alberta on Saturday, the federal defence minister, David McGuinty, said, according to CTV News. Speaking at a late-night news conference in Ottawa, he declined to give a number of fatalities, calling it a very active and delicate situation, and said he could not recall a comparable incident in recent memory.
The armed forces and the Department of National Defence are working with Alberta and local authorities to establish what happened. Alberta health officials declared a Code Orange, pooling hospital resources across the province to treat multiple seriously injured patients, and asked people to avoid the University of Alberta Hospital emergency department where possible. STARS sent air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon, and local groups opened spaces to support families.
Source: CTV News
