LONDON (AP) — Authorities say not less than seven people have been killed in an explosion at a gas station in a small village in northwest Ireland.
Irish police said Saturday 4 people were confirmed dead overnight, adding to the initial toll of three. Eight persons are in hospitals and several other persons are unaccounted for after a blast tore through the Applegreen service station in Creeslough, County Donegal.
“The search and recovery for further fatalities continues, said the police force, An Garda Siochana.
Emergency responders from Ireland and neighboring Northern Ireland are involved within the search and rescue operation.
The explosion leveled the gas station constructing, which holds the major shop and post office for the village, and damaged nearby buildings.
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Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said it was one in all the “darkest of days for Donegal and all the country.”
“People across this island shall be numbed by the identical sense of shock and utter devastation because the people of Creeslough at this tragic lack of life,” he said.
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