Trenton, Ontario ? The bodies of four Canadian soldiers accidentally killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan were welcomed home with a solemn ceremony Saturday, as Canadians expressed grief and anger over the accidental deaths.

A gunmetal-gray Airbus carrying their remains touched down at the Canadian Forces Base here on Lake Ontario’s shore, met by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, the country’s top military officials and grieving relatives.

The body of Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer is at home in Canada. The caskets of four Canadian soldiers killed last week in Afghanistan arrived Saturday at Trenton airbase.

A lone bagpiper played as four coffins each draped with Canada’s red-and-white maple leaf flag were lifted from the plane one by one and carried by grim-faced pallbearers to waiting hearses. They were driven under police escort to Toronto for examination by a coroner.

“This is a very difficult day for all of us … a very difficult day for all Canadians,” Gen. Ray Henault, the head of Canada’s armed forces, told reporters before the ceremony, held in a biting wind under a bright sun.

The soldiers who were killed Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Private Richard Green and Private Nathan Smith came from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which is based north of Edmonton, Alberta, and provides the bulk of the troop commitment to Afghanistan.

Col. Stuart Beare said at the Edmonton Garrison on Saturday evening that the four bodies would be returned to their home towns where funerals would be scheduled.