Donegal explosion: ‘Entire nation mourning’ 10 people killed in petrol station blast – as more details of victims emerge
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said the entire nation is mourning 10 people killed in a devastating explosion at a petrol station, as more details of the victims emerged.
The blast at the service station in Creeslough, Co Donegal, on Friday, claimed the lives of four men, three women, two teenagers – a boy and a girl – and a girl of primary school age.
Teenage rugby player Leona Harper has been named as among those killed.
Letterkenny Rugby Club paid tribute to the “talented rugby player” and an “important part of our U14 girls’ team” in a post on their Facebook page.
The club said: “We are heartbroken to say our worst fears have been confirmed… to Leona’s parents, Hugh and Donna, her brothers Anthony and Jamie, and all of her team mates, we offer you our deepest condolences and support.
“There are no words that feel strong enough at a moment of deep sorrow such as this.
“Rest in peace, Leona.”
Jessica Gallagher, who was understood to have been in her early 20s; shop worker Martina Martin; Catherine O’Donnell and her son James; and Hughie Kelly, have all been named locally as among those who died in the blast.
Four others, including a girl of primary school age, were also killed.
Eight people injured in the explosion remained in hospital on Saturday.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin pledged support to help the community get through the ‘enormous trauma’
The explosion is being treated as a “tragic accident” by Irish police.
Mr Martin visited the site and spoke to members of the emergency services who had worked for 24 hours to locate victims following the explosion. The lengthy search and recovery operation concluded on Saturday afternoon.
He said there was “deep sadness” in the village and a “terrible silence” reflecting the enormity of what has happened.
“The entire nation is mourning and deeply saddened.
“A young child in the shop and two teens, as well as men and women who were going about their lives as well.
“It is a very close-knit community and our heart goes out to them.”
Pic: North West Newspix
The Taoiseach added: “Talking to those on the front line and everyone involved, they were very moved by the extraordinary support they got from the community here almost immediately.
“Many volunteers rushed to the scene to try and do everything they could to help because it was an horrific scene they came upon and we must always remember our emergency services.
“I want to thank them for helping those who were trapped and injured. We must do everything we can to support the community.
“Words on their own will not console someone who has lost a loved one and we have to be with them. We will be with them for quite some time.”
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Donegal blast was ‘freak accident’
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Ireland’s main opposition party, also visited Creeslough on Saturday evening, as did the country’s deputy premier, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.
Disaster-hit community wrestles with ‘tsunami of grief’
It would be difficult to exaggerate the sense of shock in Creeslough.
This tiny, picturesque village in County Donegal is attempting to comprehend an enormous tragedy.
There is an eerie silence, people numbed by what has happened here.
Parish priest, Father John Joe Duffy, told me he was dealing with “a tsunami of grief”.
He has been providing pastoral support to the bereaved and those still waiting for news.
The petrol station was a community hub and would have been packed at the time of the explosion.
Local people were digging through the rubble in an attempt to rescue those trapped when help arrived.
Fire and ambulance services from Northern Ireland crossed the border to assist their colleagues.
People have been arriving with hot food for emergency teams delicately searching the debris.
One local politician said: “We are seeing the best of this community as it faces its worst day.”
The political leaders later joined emergency service members and local residents for a service for the victims at a nearby church.
Parish priest Fr John Joe Duffy told the Mass: “Our hearts are indeed broken, we all sense a numbness, a disbelief that we are really experiencing this tragedy, that it is real.
“The grief we see in the young and in the old shows that this is a family that cares for each other, a genuine community.
“We suffer the loss, we all sense the pain.
“The days ahead will be difficult days. I wish there was some easier way, but unfortunately there is not.
“However, the strength of our community will carry us.”
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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