7 dead, dozens injured in explosion and fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta
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At least seven people were killed and dozens more left injured from an explosion and fire at the Canadian Forces Base Wainwright on Saturday, Oct. 17, according to multiple military sources.
The explosion was caused by a live-fire training exercise hitting a gas line or gas well on the base, Canadian Armed Forces sources told Global News.
A fire broke out, fuelled by wind gusts of up to 100 km/h that prompted much of Alberta to be under wind warnings. The flames spread from the base to the adjacent Municipal District of Wainwright.
When addressing the mass emergency, Minister of National Defence David McGuinty said he can't recall an incident of this nature in recent memory, adding that evening it was "a very, very active and delicate situation."
Both STARS Air Ambulance and Acute Care Alberta said emergency crews were on scene providing care and transporting patients from the military base about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
CFB Wainwright is one Canada's busiest military training bases, used mainly to train soldiers and prepare units for combat operations.
It's also the site of the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which prepares military units to operate together in realistic battlefield conditions, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides basic infantry training.
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