Creeslough numbed as three people confirmed dead after explosion

Nightlights illuminate the skyline, but a dark cloud hangs over Cresslough.

Three fatalities have been confirmed following an explosion on Friday afternoon.

A sense of numbness, helplessness, is being felt by those who stand in silent hope and prayer since an ordinary Friday turned into anything but.

People remain trapped in rubble after an explosion at the Applegreen service station at around 3.20pm.

Sniffer dogs have been drafted in and emergency response teams, using specialised equipment are sifting through the debris. The N56 road has been closed and diversions are in place while a temporary airspace restriction has been imposed within a 6km radius of Creeslough.

An Garda Síochána have confirmed that there have been three fatalities.

“This continues to be an ongoing operation and An Garda Síochána are not in a position to provide further information on casualties at this time,” a spokesperson from the Garda Press Office said.

Letterkenny University Hospital has tonight stood down a major emergency standby plan which was enacted following the explosion, which happened at around 3.20pm.

The hospital continues to treat those injured in the incident and remains on hand to provide all necessary medical assistance required.

A spokesperson for the Saolta University Health Care Group said: “We continue to appeal to the public not to come to the Emergency Department unless it is an emergency.

“Please contact your GP or out of hours service in the first instance. NowDoc has increased staffing tonight to help deal with any additional demands.”

“The news will not be good,” said The Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian SJ, who travelled to the devastating scene.

Bishop McGuckian spoke of a ‘sense of impending loss’ and fears of fatalities were confirmed after 10pm by the Garda Press Office.

People reported hearing the explosion several kilometres away and the ferocity was such that windows in other buildings nearby were broken.

The main building was destroyed in the blast at the complex, which houses a filing station, shop and post office as well as an apartment block.

“The heart had been torn out of our community,” Fr John Joe Duffy, the visibly-upset local parish priest, said.

“This is a tragedy that is beyond belief. It is an accident beyond our imagining.

“This has happened in the heart of our community. A sad reality just unfolded. This is our community, this is the shop where we all meet.”

Schools had just finished for the day at 3pm and the town was its usual hive of activity on Friday evening. Pension day for some, a commute home for others, a weekend away for some - Creeslough has all kinds of passers-by as well as its own closely-knit residents.

Deputy Pearse Doherty also visited the shellshocked town and described ‘an eerie silence’ as loved ones of some of the unaccounted waited for news.

“It is just surreal,” he said. “It is a very, very dark day for the community. It is heartbreaking.”

Fire services and ambulance personnel, including some from Northern Ireland, rushed to the scene.

Falling debris caused damage to cars on the forecourt and shocked onlookers watched in horror.

This emergency response has been led by the Donegal County Council Fire Service with assistance by An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service, Irish Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Rescue 118 Helicopter, Irish Air Corps Medivac 112, Northern Ireland Ambulance HEMS, Irish Community Air Ambulance (Ground Crew), Northern Ireland Urban Search and Rescue, Meavagh Fire Service, Donegal Mountain Rescue, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HART team (Hazardous Area Response Team) and the Donegal County Council Civil Defence.

A landing zone was set up at Phoenix Park for inbound helicopters transporting casualties to Dublin.

In Creeslough, local farmers and contractors aided the emergency responders in carting rubble from the scene. The noise of the machinery was all that punctuated a haunting Friday night in Creeslough.

“It felt as if I was looking at something out of an episode of something on Netflix,” one eyewitness said.

As the true horror unfolded, their worst nightmare played out before them.