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CatastropheIreland

Deadly gas station explosion rocks Irish village

October 8, 2022

Several people were killed and others remain missing after a gas station blast in the Irish village of Creeslough. Some of the survivors had been trapped for hours, according to a local lawmaker.

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Emergency responders stand outside the Applegreen gas station in the Irish village of Creeslough
The explosion shook up the Creeslough village's tightly-knit communityImage: Jonathan Mccambridge/PA/dpa/picture alliance

An explosion ripped through a busy gas station in a small village in County Donegal in northwestern Ireland on Friday afternoon, killing at least 10 people and injuring some eight others.

Irish police combed on Saturday piles of rubble, searching for victims who may be trapped underneath. They said they did not expect more survivors from the blast.

The dead included  four men, three women, two teenagers and a girl of primary school age, police said.

The blast affected the shops around the Applegreen gas station, on the outskirts of the village of Creeslough.

The building hosts the village's only supermarket as well as a post office. The incident also occurred at a very busy time of day as the school week was coming to a close.

The Irish police has yet to confirm the cause of the explosion.

Reactions to the 'darkest of days'

The incident shook up Creeslough's tight-knit community. The Letterkenny University Hospital treating the victims said in a statement on Friday that it had moved to "major emergency standby" mode.

It added that extra staff had been called in to deal with the incident and urged the public to refrain from visiting the hospital unless it's an emergency.

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin expressed his condolences and sympathies to the victims and their families and friends "on this darkest of days for Donegal and the entire country."

Emergency responders and ambulances stand near the Applegreen gas station where the explosion went off
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin described Friday as the 'darkest of days'Image: Nina Gabel/PA/dpa/picture alliance

"People across this island will be numbed by the same sense of shock and utter devastation as the people of Creeslough at this tragic loss of life," he said in a statement late on Friday.

Local Sinn Fein lawmaker Pearse Doherty said that people remained trapped inside the building hours after the explosion. Some of those trapped were able to contact the emergency services outside, he added.

The search and rescue operation also included emergency responders from neighboring Northern Ireland.

rmt/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)