A five-year-old girl and her dad are among ten dead after an explosion at a gas station in County Donegal.
Police have now named all ten victims of the blast, which claimed the lives of four men, three women, two teenagers and a girl of primary school age. The explosion in Creeslough that took place on Friday afternoon also left one man in his twenties in hospital in a critical condition.
It is understood the five-year-old girl and her father were at the Applegreen Service Station buying a birthday cake for her mum, reports BelfastLive.
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Other victims are understood to have included a mother and son who called to the shop in Creeslough on the way home from school, and a man using the ATM.
In a news conference today, police said the victims are Robert Garwe, 50, and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe, five, Leona Harper, 14, Catherine O Donnell, 39, and her son James Monaghan, 13, James O Flaherty, 48, Jessica Gallagher, 24, Martin McGill, 49, Hugh Kelly, 59, and Martina Martin, 49.
All of the victims are believed to be from the local area. Tributes have been paid to Leona, 14, who was a budding local rugby player and an 'important' part of Letterkenny Rugby Club's U14s squad.
Last night Leona’s heartbroken brother Anthony paid tribute to his little sister on Facebook.
He said: “I don’t know where to begin Leona. I couldn’t have asked for a better little sister. You would go mad for me putting this up of you now because it’s an old picture of you. Leona I love you so much and we all love you so much.”
Letterkenny Rugby Club posted on Facebook: “We are heartbroken to say our worst fears have been confirmed. Leona Harper tragically lost her life yesterday in Creeslough. She was a talented rugby player and an important part of our U14 girls team.
“To Leona’s parents, Hugh and Donna, her brothers Anthony and Jamie, and all of her team-mates, we offer you our deepest condolences and support. There are no words that feel strong enough at a moment of deep sorrow such as this. Rest in peace, Leona.”
Gardai said all those who had been reported missing were now accounted for although forensic teams would continue to sift through the rubble.
A major emergency was declared at the nearby hospital on Friday as locals rushed to help rescue people who could be heard crying for help beneath the rubble.
They formed a human chain to clear debris and rescue a girl in her mid teens but were unable to save her friend.
Nina Gabel, who was at the cordon on Friday evening, described distressing scenes.
She said: “There was one woman who didn’t know where her daughter was and she was very upset. What looked like farmers’ tractors were helping to dig out the rubble.”
As Taoiseach Micheal Martin visited the scene for himself, Supt David Kelly, of Milford Garda station, confirmed all 10 victims were from the locality.
He said: “This is a tragedy for our community, there are families left devastated. I just want to start by offering, on behalf of myself and my colleagues that attended the scene yesterday and indeed are continuing to do so, our very sincere condolences.
“In this point in time we have to keep an open mind as a police service and how we investigate this. But our information at this point in time is pointing towards a tragic accident.”
In an update on Saturday night a Garda spokesman said the search operation at the scene had concluded and no further casualties had been located.
He added: “The technical bureau has commenced an examination of the scene, with assistance from the health and safety authority and national utility companies.
“The local coroner and the office of the State pathologist have been notified and postmortems will take place over the coming days. Garda family liaison are providing support and information to those impacted by this incident.”
Relatives maintained a hushed presence at the scene last night as an air of disbelief hung in the air. The HSE said its psychological social response team would “remain present” in Creeslough over the coming days to provide counselling support.
It stated: “Each bereaved family will be offered the contact details of an identified support person. Wider community support services will be available over the coming weeks and months as required.”
One local man, who lives a kilometre from the blast site, told how he felt a “sonic boom” and was knocked off his chair when the tragedy struck. Eamonn McFadden, who was working at his laptop at the time, said: “There was this huge bang. We were rocked to the very core.
“The house shook and the people in the house shook. It was actually hard to describe what it felt like other than to call it a sonic boom.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.” Mr McFadden said he knew something “catastrophic” had happened. He rushed to the scene and found utter carnage and devastation.
The witness said: “It was like something you would see in a movie. It was catastrophic. There were no emergency services at the scene at that stage so we helped as best we could. It was just very difficult to know even where to start.”
Mr McFadden revealed how one man emerged from the rubble of the apartments and was barely injured.
He said: “That was hard to believe but it was great to see that he was not injured. A ladder was put up to him and we managed to take him down. That was one happy ending but unfortunately it was not the case for so many.”
Kieran Gallagher, whose house is 150 yards away, also rushed to the scene to help. He said: “I had the back door open and there was a blast. It was like a bomb. I went up to help.
“There were workmen and tradesmen everywhere. We were clearing the rubble and lifting concrete blocks and lead from the roof and timber with nails in it. There were shopping baskets, greeting cards, sympathy cards, and other cards I couldn’t really see you know, we were too busy. It was a devastating scene.”
Speaking to Greg Hughes on Highland Radio, a tearful Mr Gallagher said he knows all of the deceased including a neighbour and a five-year-old girl.
He added: “I know my neighbour worked on the till. She has passed away. My friend’s sister and son have passed away and I know the father and the young fella.
“There’s a five-year-old girl... herself and her father were on the forecourt and passed away.”
And he said one young man who was working in the shop was lucky to survive the blast after he left to go to the store room.
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