An incident at one of Canada’s busiest military training bases in Alberta caused a large fire and left some killed and injured, according to Canada’s defense minister.

“I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” defence minister David McGuinty said at a press conference on Saturday night.

He described the situation at CFB Wainwright as “active and delicate,” with the fire being monitored very closely.

McGuinty did not provide casualty figures or details about what caused the incident.

“I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory”, he said at the press conference, adding that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation.

The Canadian Armed Forces and federal, provincial and local authorities were coordinating the emergency response, he said. The nearby community of Wainwright was providing hospital and firefighting support.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith described the fire as “significant and tragic” and said it was affecting many military personnel.

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In an earlier social media post, Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “A serious incident creating a major fire has occurred at CFB Wainwright, in Alberta.”

“Our thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected,” he said.

Neither Carney nor Smith provided details about what caused the fire or whether anyone was injured.

A doctor at a hospital in Edmonton, 180 km northwest of Wainwright, told Canada’s national broadcaster that patients were being brought to hospitals across the city as Wainwright’s healthcare facilities became “completely overwhelmed” by the number of people needing care.

“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” Dr Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC news. “It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15 to 25-year disaster.”

Canadian Forces Base Wainwright is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases, where soldiers prepare for combat operations. It is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which conducts realistic battlefield exercises, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides military training.