The number of confirmed injuries from an explosion at the 19 Wing CFB Comox air force base has risen to 22, says the Department of National Defence (DND).
In a media release Friday, defence officials said the injuries included 16 military members and six civilians. One person remains in hospital, while the 21 others have been treated and released.
The explosion was related to a gas line, involving a barracks building under renovation, but officials said it was also being used for accommodations.
Everyone known to be on the base at the time of the explosion has been accounted for, DND said, but that the scale of the damage made clearing the scene difficult.
An urban search-and-rescue team from Esquimalt searched the scene with acoustic and infrared sensors, the DND said.
Wendy Black, who lives a few kilometres away, said she was sitting by her window having tea when she was startled by the explosion.
“We heard this really loud ‘boom’ and the entire house shook, the cabinets, the cats went scurrying and we were like, ‘what was that?'” she said.
Federal, provincial and military investigations into the blast were began Friday.
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