At least seven people have been killed following an explosion at a petrol station in northwest Ireland, police said on Saturday. Gardaí (Irish police) said eight people were rushed to hospital as "the search for other victims continues". The explosion happened on Friday afternoon in County Donegal at a petrol station in the village of Creeslough. Aerial images show the Applegreen service station destroyed, with a two-story neighboring apartment in ruins. The Gardaí did not give an explanation for the cause of the explosion. Kieran Gallagher, who lives around 150 meters from the scene, said the blast made him think of a "bomb". "I was at home when I heard an explosion ... it was like a bomb," he told the BBC. Irish Police, Fire, Ambulance and Coastguard Services, Northern Ireland Air Ambulance Service and a team of specialists from the British province worked through the night. Emergency services remained on site into Saturday, using rescue dogs to look for more people. Letterkenny University Hospital, 15 miles from the incident, was placed in an emergency situation and said in a statement it was dealing with a "serious incident" and treating "multiple injuries". In a statement, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin said his "thoughts and prayers [are] today with those who lost their lives and those who were injured in this devastating explosion". "Island residents will be struck with the same sense of shock and utter devastation as the people of Creeslough at this tragic loss of life," he said, thanking emergency service members who worked "all night under extremely traumatic circumstances". In a statement on Twitter, Applegreen company said the news was "devastating". "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the deceased, those who have been injured, and the wider Creeslough community," they tweeted. The company said that the supermarket and Applegreen outlet had been operated by local partners at "the heart of the community". "Like the rest of Ireland, tonight we stand in solidarity with that community". The village of Creelough, some 50 kilometres from the border with Northern Ireland, has about 400 inhabitants. — Euronews
