A “serious incident” at a military base in western Canada killed and injured multiple people and sparked a huge blaze on Saturday, the government said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X that “a serious incident creating a major fire” had occurred at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in western Alberta.

There were “both fatalities and injuries” as a result of the incident, the country’s defence minister, David McGuinty, said at a news conference.

Neither offered details on the number of casualties or the nature of the incident.

“We will have more to say in the coming hours and days,” McGuinty added.

A doctor at a hospital in the city of Edmonton, about 200 kilometres (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.”

The Municipal District of Wainwright posted on social media that the fire had “spread rapidly due to high winds.”

It said later on Saturday that the blaze was “being held at this time,” though firefighting crews would continue to monitor the area.

Carney said the government was working closely with Alberta officials and local authorities.

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

The fire also disrupted advance voting ahead of Monday’s referendum on a future poll on whether Alberta wants independence from Canada.

Alberta’s office responsible for overseeing provincial elections said the advance voting station in Wainwright had closed.

AFP