Major fire breaks out in Alberta after deadly incident on Canadian military base

EDMONTON, Alberta — Canada’s defense minister said Saturday that people were killed and injured in an incident at a military base in Alberta that caused a major fire, while reports said many of the injured were being transported to hospitals.

Fire crews rushed late into the night as strong winds fanned flames beyond Canadian Forces Base Wainwright and into the surrounding rural area.

It’s unclear how many people were killed or injured, but a doctor at a hospital in the city of Edmonton, 180 km (120 miles) to the northwest, told Canada’s national broadcaster that patients were being rushed to the city’s hospitals as health care facilities around the base were “completely overwhelmed” by the number of people needing care.

“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” said Dr. Warren Thirskemergency doctor at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News. “There are more patients than we want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a 15 to 25 year disaster.”