A butcher working in a Co Donegal supermarket during an explosion that killed 10 people has spoken publicly for the first time.
Pádraig O’Donnell, 51, was at work in Lafferty’s supermarket in Creeslough on October 7 last year when an explosion ripped through busy shop.
He described the scene he witnessed as like “nine-eleven or the Omagh bomb”.
Read more: Creeslough rescue digger driver speaks publicly for the first time
Pádraig has given the first eyewitness account of what it was like inside in a new TG4 documentary, Iniúchadh TG4 – An Craoslach, which airs tonight (Wednesday) at 9:30pm on TG4.
The documentary focuses on the rescue effort carried out by ordinary people of Creeslough in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.
Ten people lost their lives and eight were injured in the explosion at Lafferty’s supermarket. The fatalities were five-year-old Shauna Flanagan Garwe 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 and Hugh Kelly, 59 also lost their lives.
Gardaí are still investigating the cause of the blast but a gas explosion remains a major line of inquiry.
Pádraig said: “It was like a scene from a horror movie. It was a Friday, and the place was very busy. I was just returning to the butcher counter when the next thing, bang.
“There was an explosion. It was very big and very loud. It was just unbelievable. It was a terrible scene.”
Although he suffered from shock himself, Pádraig managed to bring a pensioner who was standing amid the debris covered in dust out the back door of the building. The lady was one of the first people rescued.
“She was shocked and was very quiet, and we did not speak. Outside the shop there was just bricks and debris everywhere. I hadn’t an idea what had happened, it was a terrible scene,” he added.
After leading the pensioner to safety, Pádraig went back inside to see if he could help others trapped in the rubble, adding: “There were others in the shop and I had to go back inside to help whoever I could.”
Pádraig said: “I am one of the lucky ones. I am still alive but my life is different now. I am not able to sleep and I have nightmares.
“My heart is broken thinking about those who died. I can’t think about anything else. I pray for their souls. It’s not an experience you want to be in.”
Digger driver Henry Gallagher, who worked at the scene of the tragedy, also speaks publicly for the first time in the documentary. He remained in the cab of his excavator for 24 hours, removing rubble from the collapsed building until the last body was taken out.
He said: “You just see a river of high vis vests (behind me) and I know that among that, there are families waiting on news. The only way that they are going to get the news of a loved one being taken out, is for me to get in.”
Lorry driver Colin Kilpatrick from Raphoe, Co Donegal, who was making a delivery in Creeslough, heard the explosion.
He was among the first rescuers at the garage forecourt where he managed to help free one of the injured by using a car jack to lift concrete slabs.
“People got out and people didn’t get out, but what we done worked,” he said.
Iniúchadh TG4 - An Craoslach is the first in a new monthly series of current affairs and investigative documentaries broadcast by TG4 this year examining the issues behind the headlines of current major Irish news stories.
The series is presented by award-winning Belfast-based investigative journalist Kevin Magee who previously worked as Investigations Correspondent at BBC Northern Ireland, and on its flagship current affairs programme Spotlight.
Kevin said: “At the time of tragic events in Creeslough , we all heard about the extraordinary bravery and courage of the first wave of rescuers, local people who ran to help their trapped neighbours at great risk to themselves before the emergency services arrived.”
Iniúchadh TG4 – An Craoslach airs on TG4 this Wednesday, 8 February at 9:30pm and will also be available to view worldwide on the TG4 Player.
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