A Co Donegal man has said he is overwhelmed by the global response to the Creeslough service station tragedy as over €150,000 is raised to support victims.
Gerard McFadden, who is originally from the village but now living in Brisbane Australia, launched a Gofundme page to support those who have been killed and injured in the explosion that killed 10 people on Friday, October 7.
Four men, three women, two teenagers and a younger girl of primary school age died in the explosion.
Read more: Creeslough explosion: Girl, 5, and dad killed 'buying birthday cake' as more victims named
A dad and his five-year-old daughter were killed while buying a birthday cake for her mum, while other victims are understood to have included a mother and son who called to the shop in Creeslough on the way home from school.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Gerard McFadden said that he was overwhelmed with the response to the Gofundme appeal and thanked everyone who has donated to help the people of his hometown.
He said: "The response to this appeal has been overwhelming and I am very grateful to see people from all over the world coming together to support Creeslough during this tragedy.
"Being so far away from home I wanted to contribute in any way that I could but I didn't think that so many people would be willing to offer their help and it is heartwarming to see in such awful circumstances.
"A good friend of mine from home told me he had been at the service station only a few minutes before the explosion with his young son. It is hard to imagine that such a terrible thing has happened."
Gerard's late father was a former chairman of the Creeslough Community Association and he said that he would be working closely with them in order to ensure that all of the donations are given to those that need them the most.
The appeal has raised over €157,000 at the time of writing.
He continued: "The aim of the appeal is to provide support to the families of those who have been killed and those who have been injured, such help with funeral costs, healthcare costs, mental health support and whatever else may be needed.
"I will be working closely with the CCA so that when the dust settles we will be able to sit down together and figure out a plan on how to get the support to who needs it the most.
"I imagine there will be many other appeals and support made available and we need to ensure that it goes to the right place.
"I would just like to thank everyone who has donated to the appeal again for their help and support for the people of Creeslough."
If you would like to donate to the appeal to help the victims of the Creeslough Applegreen explosion, please follow this link .
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