Nearly 40 people hospitalized after fire at Canadian military base

After the fire at the Wainwright military base in the Canadian province of Alberta, 39 people were taken to hospital. This was announced at a press conference by the Prime Minister of the province Daniel Smith, her words are reported by CTV News.

At least 19 of them are in critical condition.

The victims were taken to four hospitals in the province of Alberta, where they temporarily introduced the “orange code” – a mode of response to emergency situations with mass admission of patients, putting an increased burden on the health system.

The tragedy occurred on October 17. According to Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces Wade Rutland, dry grass caught fire during the day during military exercises at the base. During this time, the soldiers were trained before being sent to Latvia.

The base's management had been aware of the fire for several hours, but because of the unusually strong winds, the fire changed direction and began to spread rapidly towards the exercise area. According to Rutland, after changing the direction of the wind, the flames covered about a kilometer in just 30-60 seconds.

In addition to 39 casualties, four Canadian soldiers were killed.

Earlier, Global News, citing sources in military structures, reported that a gas explosion occurred at the base, and then a large fire began. Initially, the TV channel reported seven dead.