1 dead, dozens hurt in tent collapse at Buddhist meditation centre near Edmonton
People from around the world were attending retreat when windstorm hit
One international visitor is dead and dozens more are injured after a tent collapsed at a Buddhist meditation centre Wednesday evening in a small community northwest of Edmonton.
RCMP say a structure collapsed in severe weather around 5:30 p.m. MT at the Westlock Meditation Centre in Busby, Alta., about 70 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
"A severe weather storm came in with some severe winds and at one point the tent structure collapsed on many occupants," RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said.
EMS assessed 60 people for injuries, and transported 40 to hospitals in Barrhead, Westlock, St. Albert and Edmonton, Alberta Health Services spokesperson James Wood said in a Thursday email. He said one person was dead when paramedics arrived.
Michael Nguyen, a spokesperson for the Westlock Meditation Centre, said about 400 people had gathered at the centre for an 11-day monastic retreat, where participants live as monks and nuns from morning to night. The Edmonton Buddhist Research Institute organizes the annual gathering, started in 2002, he said.
The institute declined to comment when contacted by CBC News.
Nguyen said participants were all adults, of all genders. Savinkoff said visitors hailed from the U.S., Australia, Germany, Vietnam, Belgium and other countries.
He said most attendees were gathered in the large, white event tent for dinner before an orientation session when the storm blew in.
The Westlock area was under a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday evening.
Organizers were working to get participants inside buildings to safety when the wind grew stronger, he said.
RCMP did not have information on the age or hometown of the person who died. Nguyen said the person who was killed was not from Canada.
On Thursday morning, tape cordoned off the area where the remains of the collapsed tent and some black support poles were visible on the centre's grounds. Sheets of white plastic were strewn over some tables and chairs.
Nguyen said the centre is waiting to hear from lawyers about what to do with the tent.
He said organizers still intend to proceed with the retreat, which began formally today, but are still discussing whether the program will change in light of the incident.
'A real tragic incident'
Savinkoff said at least nine ambulances took people to hospitals, and that of those people are in stable condition.
STARS air ambulance took a woman in her 70s from the collapsed tent to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton on Wednesday night, spokesperson Natalie Hofstetter said in a statement. She did not have information on the woman's condition.
"This is a real tragic incident," Savinkoff said. "We have one dead person. We've got some serious injuries. It's going to be a long time before people recover both emotionally and physically."
Nguyen, of the meditation centre, said medical professionals and mental health workers from the organization will visit injured participants in hospital.
Wednesday's thunderstorm developed along a cold front near Whitecourt mid-afternoon, said Alysa Pederson, warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada. The storm hit peak intensity between 5:30 and 6:30 pm Wednesday in the Busby area, she said.
Straight-line winds are the biggest threat with a storm like this, she said, and Wednesday's storm had wind reaching 70-to-90 kilometres per hour.
"The wind can pick up in seconds where you are when these gusts do move through," Pederson said in a Thursday interview.
Busby resident Marv Thompson said the storm brought intense rain and wind that lasted about 10 minutes. He said the people running the meditation centre are kind, hospitable folks and good neighbours.
"They obviously didn't have any warning either," Thompson said. "And and things like that happen. I guess Mother Nature, you just don't play with her."
Response of emergency crews
Savinkoff described the initial scene as "organized chaos."
At least 20 police officers responded from the nearby communities of Westlock, Morinville, Parkland County and Barrhead, he said.
Firefighters responded from Busby, Pickardville, Clyde and the Town of Westlock, said Westlock County Reeve Christine Wiese in a Thursday interview.
The meditation centre is part of the county's draw for tourism and recreation, she said.
"It's a place of peace, right? And it's a place of community and find your sense of self," Wiese said. "To know that this tragic incident happened in a location that is geared around bringing peace, it just brings an extra layer to the tragedy."
Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis posted about the incident on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday morning.
"My heart goes out to the friends and family of the loved one who was tragically lost last night and to those injured in the tent collapse in Westlock," Ellis' post said. "Alberta's government expresses its deepest condolences to loved ones of the deceased and is here to support our first responders and the community during this difficult time."
Provincial government Occupational Health and Safety investigators have been on the site since Wednesday evening, and are assessing the incident, a spokesperson said.
RCMP is investigating the incident.
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With files from Julia Wong, Kory Siegers and Neil Herland