Gardaí investigating the October 2022 explosion at a Creeslough apartment block and garage in Co Donegal have identified the condition of the gas delivery system as being at the centre of the potential cause of the blast.
The explosion in the Co Donegal village, one year ago on Saturday, claimed the lives of 10 people.
Garda investigators are working alongside health and safety personnel and specialists in explosion inquiries to try to determine exactly how the blast occurred and the reasons for it. They have examined the condition of the gas delivery system, from source to point of use in each apartment, on the day of the explosion in a bid to pinpoint how the tragedy occurred.
The system includes all the infrastructure that stored the gas, delivered it for use through pipes into each unit in the block where the explosion occurred and the infrastructure at the point of use in each apartment.
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In response to queries from The Irish Times, Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park in Dublin declined to say whether the investigation was criminal in nature.
The inquiry involves personnel from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), which usually investigates serious crimes, as well as the Garda Síochána Analysis Service and Garda Technical Bureau.
“An Garda Síochána continues to work diligently and as expeditiously as possible, in the circumstances, to ensure that all the circumstances of this fatal explosion are professionally investigated,” the Garda said, adding it would “provide a further update when appropriate”.
It added the Garda inquiry was “extensive” with more than 1,350 lines in inquiry being “actioned” – meaning follow-up inquiries or other investigative tasks performed – while more than 900 statements have been taken. A family liaison team “with a dedicated family liaison officer” has also been “appointed to each deceased person’s family”.
Gardaí from Milford Garda station are co-ordinating the inquiry, with Garda personnel being assisted by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
Norwegian-based investigations company DNV, a global “technical advisory services” company working in the oil and gas industries, is also aiding in the inquiry.
Four men, three women and three young people, ranging in ages from five to 59 years, died in the explosion at a service station and adjacent building, where a number of apartments were located.
Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, Jessica Gallagher, Martin McGill, James O’Flaherty, Martina Martin, Hugh Kelly and 14-year-old Leona Harper were all killed in the explosion.
The property, including a garage forecourt, where the explosion occurred has remained sealed off for the last year as the investigation into the tragedy has continued.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the disaster on Saturday, the victims will be remembered at a memorial service at the site of the explosion.
