Wainwright, Canada - Four soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a fire at a military base in Alberta province, one of the worst peacetime tragedies to hit Canada's armed forces on home soil, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday.
Carney made the solemn announcement without providing details on what caused the fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright on Saturday.
"It is with deep sadness that I can confirm, at this time, that four service members have lost their lives and that their loved ones have been notified," Carney said in the capital, Ottawa, adding that "dozens of others have been seriously injured."
"This is one of the worst tragedies the Canadian Armed Forces have experienced on Canadian soil in peacetime," he said.
A doctor at a hospital in the city of Edmonton, about 110 miles northwest of the base, told public broadcaster CBC that Wainwright's health care facilities were "completely overwhelmed" by the number of patients requiring care.
"It is more patients than any of us want to count right now," Warren Thirsk said. "It's a disaster. It's a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster."
According to the Department of National Defense, the fire broke out around 4 pm local time (2200 GMT) Saturday in the base's training area.
The Municipal District of Wainwright posted on social media that the fire had "spread rapidly due to high winds."
"Military and civilian crews fought this fire throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians," Carney said.
The Wainwright base is one of the largest bases operated by the Canadian Armed Forces and it regularly hosts training exercises involving military personnel from NATO countries.
"We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery," Carney said.