Experts begin onerous Creeslough explosion examinations

Experts will sift through rubble removed from the site of the Creeslough explosion as they attempt to piece together the events of Friday afternoon.

Ten people were killed in the blast with eight more injured, one of whom remains in a critical condition in St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

A specialised team will begin to carefully examine the debris, which was taken from the scene by teams of locals in lorries and trailers.

Several tonnes of material remains under Garda watch before an examination team arrives on site.

Items such as beds, chairs, tables and other household articles are among the wreckage.

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Concrete slabs and beams, which were a part of the structure of the building, were also removed from the site.

Officers from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrived in Creeslough at the start of the week to form a part of the inquiry into the horror blast.

The NBCI forms An Garda Síochána’s serious crime squad. While Gardaí are treating the explosion as a ‘tragic accident’ and do not suspect foul play, the expertise of NBCI officers will be key in the investigation. The main line of inquiry being explored is focussed on an accidental gas leak at the complex.

Explosives experts have also been drafted in by Gardaí examining the horrific incident while an inspection team from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) have begun to investigate.

Additional Gardaí with experience in tragic investigations have also been added to the team probing the tragedy.

“The investigation will take a period of time and the Technical Bureau will be on the scene in the coming days and agencies and other sections within An Garda Siochana,” Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said. “That investigation will take a period of time and the investigation is there to investigate the cause.”

The N56 road is expected to remain closed for several days while the complex itself has been sealed off with high wooden boardings round the perimeter amid fears of further collapse.

“It is so unstable,” Garda Niall Maguire said.

“It is a three-and-a-half storey building and the engineers. We are relying on reports from engineers and they have reported that if the building was to collapse any further . . . it is a danger to the main road. The building is still creaking and groaning at the moment. There are bits falling off it.”

Garda Maguire said the N56 would remain closed ‘for the foreseeable few days.’