Creeslough 'living through nightmare' after petrol station explosion
- Published
Ten red candles were lit at St Michael's church for the 10 victims of the explosion
The people of Creeslough are "living through a nightmare" after a petrol station explosion killed 10 people, a bishop has told parishioners at Mass.
The blast happened in the small village in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland on Friday afternoon.
The victims - four men, three women, two teenagers and a five-year-old girl - were from the village or surrounding areas, said gardaí (Irish police).
Tributes have been paid to those who lost their lives.
The victims were:
Shauna Flanagan Garwe, five, and her dad Robert Garwe, 50
Catherine O'Donnell, 39, and her son James Monaghan, 13
Leona Harper, 14
Jessica Gallagher, 24
James O'Flaherty, 48
Martin McGill, 49
Martina Martin, 49
Hugh Kelly, 59
Top row left to right: Shauna Flanagan Garwe and her father Robert Garwe, Leona Harper, Hugh Kelly, Jessica Gallagher. Bottom row left to right: Martin McGill, James O'Flaherty, Martina Martin, Catherine O'Donnell and son James Monaghan
Those who attended Mass at St Michael's Church in Creeslough on Sunday were told it was an "experience we are living through together".
Bishop Alan McGuckian said the community must keep those who were killed and injured as well as those who helped attend the tragic scene in their thoughts and prayers.
He said the disaster was one that "anybody could have been caught up in".
"Why did they have to be there at that awful moment?" he asked.
Ten red candles have been lit inside the church in tribute to those who lost their lives in the explosion.
A Garda officer was among those who laid flowers at the scene of the explosion in Creeslough
One woman in the village told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ: "It's just devastating - I know them all, God rest them."
Evidence gathered so far suggested the explosion was a "tragic accident," said gardaí.
Stand in solidarity
People from the village of Creeslough and further afield have been laying flowers close to the scene.
Over the coming days, communities across counties Donegal and neighbouring Tyrone will come together for vigils to send sympathy to all affected by the explosion.
The roof of the service station and an adjoining apartment block was ripped off by the blast
Books of condolence are also opening across Ireland.
Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said the government would do everything it could to support people in Creeslough.
Speaking late on Saturday during a visit to the village, he said: "The thoughts and prayers of the nation are with the people here.
"Government support will be in place not just the short term but in the longer term because it can take a very long time for a community to recover from something like this."
This aerial view shows the extent of the damage at the service station
Creeslough is situated in the north-west of Ireland and has a population of about 400 people.
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the nation was in mourning after the explosion.
He spoke to members of the emergency services who had worked for 24 hours to find the victims.
The taoiseach and the tánaiste were among several senior politicians who attended a vigil Mass in Creeslough on Saturday evening.
Northern Ireland politicians Michelle O'Neill from Sinn Féin and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood were also present.
Leo Varadkar (second right) was among several senior politicians who visited Creeslough on Saturday
Eight people were injured as a result of the explosion, which happened shortly after 15:00 local time on Friday.
Seven of those people are in a stable condition in nearby Letterkenny University Hospital.
Another person is critically ill in the burns unit of a hospital in Dublin.
A search operation at the scene ended on Saturday evening, with no other causalities found.
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