Four Canadian Soldiers Dead After Huge Fire Sweeps Military Base

Four Canadian soldiers have died and dozens more have been injured after a huge fire swept through a military training base in Alberta.

The fire broke out at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright at around 4pm local time on Saturday, with strong winds causing the flames to spread rapidly across a training range.

A further 39 people were taken to hospital, including 19 who are in critical condition.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the incident as one of the worst peacetime tragedies in the history of the Canadian military.

The four soldiers who died have been identified as Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark.

Major-General Wade Rutland, Commander of 1st Canadian Division, said a grass fire had ignited on a training range before uncommonly strong winds caused it to spread quickly and change direction towards soldiers taking part in exercises.

The cause of the initial fire remains under investigation.

Local media initially reported that the blaze may have started after a gas main was struck during a live firing exercise. However, the military later said investigators did not believe any explosions had been caused by oil or gas infrastructure.

Carney described the fire as violent and fast-moving.

The prime minister also praised military and civilian firefighters who worked through the night in difficult conditions to bring the blaze under control.

The Canadian Department of National Defence said there were no indications that the incident was linked to terrorist activity.

The scale of the emergency prompted Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton to declare a code orange on Saturday evening. The emergency protocol, which is used when a major incident results in a large number of casualties, was stood down on Sunday afternoon.

Alberta's health service said the emergency response lasted around 10 hours and involved 22 ambulances and eight aircraft.

Many of those injured suffered severe burns, with officials warning that their ongoing medical care is expected to be intensive.

A stream of ambulances was seen arriving at the Edmonton hospital as medical teams treated the injured. One doctor told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that the hospital had been completely overwhelmed by the number of patients.

Officials have not said whether they expect the death toll to rise.