One person is dead, and several others were injured after a large tent collapsed at a Buddhist monastery northwest of Edmonton on Wednesday.
Just before 5:30 p.m., emergency officials were called to the Westlock Meditation Centre in Busby, Alta.
RCMP from several detachments, along with EMS and fire crews, were involved in the emergency response.
“There were injured people, several with serious injuries, and there were dozens of other individuals with minor cuts and bruises,” Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said Wednesday night.
“This is a very tragic incident. We not only have the one deceased person, we have lots of people with other various injuries. It’s really our heartfelt condolences and we’re hoping that these individuals all recover quickly and are able to cope with the trauma that’s been caused today from this incident.”
Police said that they believe severe weather in the area at the time may have contributed to the collapse, but that they will be looking at all possible angles.
“There were high winds and obviously we do believe that this contributed to this collapse. But the RCMP are going to conduct a more thorough investigation,” Savinkoff said.
“These are things that we look at. What did people know (and) when they knew it. How was the structure erected? What’s the structure capable of withstanding as far as severe weather conditions? These are things that certainly would be part of our investigation and we’re aware of those questions and we’ll be finding out the answers to them.”
Savinkoff said there were “well over 100 people on site” when the tent collapsed.
“This wasn’t a daily event. This was a structure they had erected for this event. There were hundreds of people here and it’s a really tragic incident that occurred.”
Michael Nguyen, a spokesperson with the Westlock Meditation Centre, told Global News about 400 people were in attendance for an annual retreat which was meant to start with a group dinner and orientation on Wednesday night.
Nguyen said most people were in or around the tent when the winds picked up. Organizers tried to get people away from the tent, but it collapsed.
Nguyen said the person who died was from outside Canada.
He said the injured people were taken to various hospitals in the Westlock and Edmonton area.
A statement from Westlock County issued Thursday morning shared in the grief and sorrow of those affected by the tragedy.
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends affected by this unfortunate event. We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the individual who lost their life. We also offer out heartfelt support to those who are recovering from injuries and to their loved ones who are providing them care and comfort,” the statement read.
“This incident has deeply impacted our community and we stand together in mourning and support.”
‘Isolated severe thunderstorm’ moves through region
A warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada said an “isolated severe thunderstorm” developed northwest of Edmonton and moved straight east before it tapered off into rain.
Alysa Pederson said the most intense thing to come out of the storm was the wind.
“The wind speeds that came out in the strongest part of it to the north of the city in Busby, two-metre winds were 73.2 kilometres an hour and that was at 5:08 p.m.,” Pederson said.
“It’s safe to say between 70 and 100 kilometres an hour is what the wind gusts were doing with that storm.”
She described it as a “straight-line wind event.”
“That’s essentially when you have a really strong thunderstorm that essentially exhales all of its air very rapidly as it moves,” Pederson explained. “All your trees, everything that gets damaged will be pointing in one direction. It’s like one big outflow, with the wind coming from west to east across a very wide area.
“Those strong winds would have extended at least a couple of kilometres wide as it was gusting to that 70 to 100 kilometres per hour.”
The storm also knocked down trees and powerlines in the Westlock and Morinville areas north of Edmonton, leading to power outages for upwards of 8,000 Fortis Alberta customers Wednesday night.
Peter Brodsky, manager of public affairs with Fortis Alberta, said crews were dispatched Wednesday night and have been working ever since to restore power. By late Thursday morning, about 1,300 customers remained without power.
“We estimate most of those customers should be back with power by 3 p.m. today, with the remaining being back later in the evening,” Brodsky said.
Occupational Health and Safety also has investigators on site.
Busby is located about 70 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
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