At least ten people died in Ireland this Friday after a gas station exploded in the town of Creeslough.
This was reported by the local police, who rushed to the scene in the afternoon after being informed of the incident that took place in the aforementioned town of 400 inhabitants, located in the north-west of the country.
As they pointed out, among the ten victims there are “four men, three women, two adolescents – one male and one female – and one female“These are all residents of the city, which is 50 kilometers from the border with Northern Ireland.
The causes that generated the explosion are still unknown and are being investigated. “The police are treating the incident with an open mind but, at the moment, the information available indicates a tragic accident,” reported the AFP news agency.
The death toll has risen in the last few hours since the rescue services worked to search for more victims under the rubble. These were tasks they did with trained dogs.
In addition to the police, there were also a group of firefighters, ambulance services and the Irish coast guard, as well as the Northern Ireland air ambulance service and a team of specialists from the British province.
The explosion caused multiple injuries even among those who were in the vicinity of the place. All of them were treated at Letterkenny University Hospital, located 24 kilometers away, which was placed in an emergency situation.
Through an aerial photo taken afterwards, we can see how a part of the service station has been totally destroyed and two two-storey residential buildings, rear seats, collapsed.
In a dialogue with the BBC, a neighbor identified as Kieran Gallagher, whose home is about 150 meters from the site, said the sound of the explosion made him think of a bomb. “I was in my house when I heard the explosion. It was like a bomb,” he said.
The reaction of the Irish government after the explosion
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin said in a statement that his “thoughts and prayers are directed to those who lost their lives and those injured in the devastating blast” and announced that he would go to the scene.
“It’s a very small town, almost everyone knows one of the victims. It’s a dark day,” he added.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue, elected representative of the area hit by the explosion, compared the devastation scenes to those of the conflict in Northern Ireland in the second half of the 20th century.
“The scenes from the event are reminiscent of images of ‘riots’ from years ago, in terms of damage and debris,” he said.
DB
Source: Clarin
