A mum and son who went to the shops after school and never returned are among those feared dead following a petrol station explosion in Ireland.
The suspected gas blast ripped through Applegreen Service Station on the outskirts of the village of Creeslough, County Donegal, Ireland, just after 3pm on Friday.
Irish Police confirmed 10 people have died so far as a result, with a mother and her son feared to be among them according to locals, MailOnline reports.
Another victim of the explosion, which destroyed an apartment complex attached to the shop, is said to be a local farmer in his 60s.
Hero villagers formed a human chain to try and rescue people still buried beneath the rubble.
They managed to free a badly injured girl in her mid-teens, but were unable to save her friend.
Shouts for help were heard coming from beneath the debris, but the threat of further collapse and the presence of gas forced the rescuers back.
One woman who lived nearby said: "It was carnage, that's the only way to describe it, a few lads had rushed in to pull away debris and try and get to people trapped inside, but it was a dangerous situation
"This is a very small, close-knit community. We know some of those who have died.
"There was a mother and her son who had popped into the shop after school. The boy goes to the local secondary school, which finishes early on Fridays.
"A lot of the kids go into the shops to get sweets, it's a weekend treat. It's too awful to even think about it. I think the whole village is in shock."
Rescue crews worked through the night in a bid to save as many people as possible, with eight rescued and taken to hospital.
Nearby Letterkenny University Hospital moved to major emergency standby in preparation for the casualties.
At one point during Friday night, onlookers were asked to be silent and all machinery was switched off to see if any more people could be heard beneath the wreckage crying for help.
One man, who arrived at the scene within 10 minutes, described the scene as "pure panic" and explained how people formed a human chain to lift the concrete and debris to try to free those trapped underneath.
He added: "We could hear shouts of "help" coming from the people trapped inside. There was a man's voice and woman's voice.
"We got one young girl out. She looked to be around 15 or 16-years of age and was quite badly injured, she had a lot of blood on her face. She could walk but was very shaky and she kept on saying "my friend is still in there".
Two emergency service workers stood on a raised platform as a crane lifted through the rubble.
Sniffer dogs were brought to the scene to help find anyone else trapped beneath the debris.
Another man told how his wife had paid for petrol and had just pulled out of the petrol station forecourt seconds before the blast.
He said: "She was the last person to leave the shop before the explosion. She's incredibly lucky.
"She'd paid up for her petrol, got in the car and was driving home when- bang!
"There was smoke and dust everywhere with rubble strewn all over the road. Had she been in there a few seconds earlier, I would have lost her."
Brendan O'Connor, president of the Garda Representative Association, paid tribute to the frontline workers who "dug with their bare hands" through the night.
He said: "I've never seen anything like the effort put in by the emergency services, north and south, those that dug with their bare hands, those who drove machines, and those who fed and watered us.
"We have lost so many members of this small community that there really are no words."
Joe Barrett, the Applegreen Founder and Chief Executive which owned the petrol station, offered his "deepest condolences" over the "hugely tragic" event.
"We are utterly shocked and saddened at what happened yesterday. I would also like to offer our thanks to the emergency services, and first responders, who are dealing with the incident."
