At least three people have died in the explosion at an Applegreen petrol station in Co Donegeal, police confirmed late on Friday night.
The search is continuing at the village of Creeslough amid fears more people may be trapped beneath the rubble.
A statement from the Irish police force, An Garda Siochana, said: “An Garda Siochana continue to assist other emergency services at the scene of a serious ongoing incident that occurred at approximately 3:20pm on Friday, 7th October, 2022, at a premises on the N56 at Creeslough, County Donegal.
“This emergency response has been led by the Donegal County Council Fire Service with assistance by An Garda Siochana, 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.
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“At this time, An Garda Siochana can confirm there has been three fatalities as a result of this serious incident. This continues to be an ongoing operation and An Garda Siochana are not in a position to provide further information on casualties at this time.
“An Garda Siochana continue to request that any road users intending to travel to the Creeslough area for any reason consider alternative routes as emergency services continue to deal with this ongoing incident.”
The latest updates on this tragic story can be found here
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