Two arrested over Creeslough blast
Men held in inquiry into 2022 explosion that killed 10
TWO men face up to seven years in prison if convicted of being accountable for the gas explosion in Creeslough that claimed the lives of 10 people.
The arrests yesterday follow an investigation involving over 1,350 lines of inquiry and 900 statements taken by gardaí since the blast in the Co. Donegal village on October 7, 2022.
A security source told the Irish Daily Mail the men were arrested yesterday morning on suspicion of endangering lives – an offence that carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
They were being held last night at different Garda stations in Co. Donegal under Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984, which allows for them to be detained for up to 24 hours.
It’s understood the men are not suspected of deliberately causing the explosion. Instead, gardaí are investigating whether the gas system was inefficiently run and maintained.
The blast ripped through the Applegreen petrol station and adjacent apartments.
A Garda spokesman said: ‘The investigation into the fatal explosion at a building complex in Creeslough, Co. Donegal, continues, co-ordinated from Milford Garda Station, where an incident room is established under the direction of a Garda Senior Investigating Officer. The investigation continues to be led by local gardaí in Donegal Division, supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and other agencies, including the Health & Safety Authority & the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities.
‘This morning, Friday, March 22, 2024, investigating gardaí have arrested two males (aged in their 50s) for alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.’
According to experts, explosions can commonly occur if a gas pipe is leaking. In a confined space such as a home or business, the gas will mix with the air, increasing the pressure of the space. Even a static electricity spark might be enough to ignite the gas, causing an explosion. Natural gas, methane, propane and butane are several types of gas that can cause explosions. However, the circumstances of the blast in Creeslough remain a mystery. A gas explosion in an apartment beside the Applegreen service station is the suspected cause.
Separately, a regeneration plan has been unveiled for the village. The new hub will include numerous facilities including playgrounds, community gardens and sports grounds.
Parish priest Fr John-Joe Duffy told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: ‘This project really started last May when the community came together and asked what do we need as a community.
‘As you know, the old proverb, “It takes a village to rear a child”. It takes a village also to come together and to heal and we were very much together, and we asked how can we help in what will be a very long journey of healing.’
They could face up to seven years’ jail ‘It takes a village to come together’
Fr Duffy added that a consultation was carried out by Donegal County Council and by international group Arup, which offered its services pro bono.
The priest said: ‘The children of the community, they were very hopeful to have of course sports, which is one of the things that children would look for, and then pathways to nature, so pathways and greenways and so on. The thing that came to the fore was the community hub and the need for a place for people to meet and people to gather together.
‘Also, it will hopefully help in the healing of this community, a healing which won’t take place today or tomorrow or next year but a journey that will last for decades if not generations.’