Campers hospitalized after possible tornado touches down at Alberta campground

Some campers at the Dillberry Lake Provincial Campground were hospitalized on Wednesday night after a possible tornado touched down.

An Alberta campground was evacuated after a reported tornado touched down on Wednesday night.

RCMP say it happened at the Dillberry Lake Provincial Campground, about 290 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, near the Saskatchewan border.

Everyone staying at the campground has been accounted for, according to Mounties but some were hospitalized.

Their conditions were unknown as of Thursday morning.

“We are still waiting on confirmation at this point as there have been a couple people that have been evacuated or that have been taken to hospital, but we don’t have any further updates on that at this time,” Const. Sanda Geiger of the Alberta RCMP told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday morning.

The campground was damaged by the tornado, but information is still sparse.

“There was structural damage done at the campground. Aside from that, I don’t have any photos or any specific information,” Geiger said.

Emergency crews were still at the campground on Thursday morning.

“Right now RCMP are remaining on scene. Essentially, they’re there to hold the scene, so that individuals can come back during the day and figure it out,” Geiger said.

“First off, there’ll be a damage assessment done, but holding the scene so that people can come back and gather their private property and personal belongings.”

Justin Patten, a senior meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada says the agency is still confirming if it was in fact a tornado.

“What we know for sure is that there was a line of severe thunderstorms that moved through the area between 7:30 and 8:30,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

“We received reports of tornadoes and funnel clouds as it moved through that area, and as of this moment, we are collaborating with the Northern Tornadoes Project to confirm and to validate the reports.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti