An Garda Síochána following over 500 lines of enquiry into Creeslough tragedy

An Garda Síochána are following over 500 lines of enquiry into the explosion in Creeslough where 10 people lost their lives earlier this month.

Tragedy struck on Friday, October 7, f at the local Applegreen Service Station and A High Court order today will preserve the scene until November 27. An Garda Síochána confirmed that over 500 lines of enquiry have been actioned to date, with house to house enquiries at an advanced stage, with 260 statements taken. 

Leona Harper, Robert Garwe and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe, Jessica Gallagher, James O'Flaherty, Martina Martin, Hugh Kelly, Catherine O'Donnell with her son James Monaghan and Martin McGill all died in the explosion.

The week following the tragedy, an order was secured earlier by the State Solicitor and granted by Judge Paul McDermott to extend the preservation of the scene for 14 days, which was due to expire tomorrow, Friday. The purpose of the High Court order is to ‘preserve, search for and collect evidence’ to facilitate the ongoing investigation. Local traffic diversions in the area on the N56 will remain in place. 

Items removed from the scene are undergoing testing and it is anticipated that further items are expected to be discovered in the coming days, with a  large amount of debris has been removed from the site to a secure location for further examination. A Garda Mobile Command Unit remains at scene where a large amount of CCTV is being reviewed.

“An Garda Síochána continues to investigate all of the circumstances into the cause of a fatal explosion at a building complex in Creeslough, County Donegal on Friday, October 7,” a Garda spokesperson told DonegalLive.

“An Garda Síochána would like to thank the local community in Creeslough and the general public for their ongoing assistance in the investigation of this explosion. We understand and appreciate the impact on the community and the ongoing inconvenience and disruption caused due to the continuing scene preservation which is necessary to assist the investigation.  

“A careful and systematic approach is being taken to the forensic examination of the scene due to the structural instability of the building, which is being closely monitored by personnel on site.  Structural engineers are in attendance at the site to assist in this investigation and to ensure as safe a working environment as possible.

“An Garda Síochána, again, thanks the local community for their patience and support regarding the current road traffic diversions. The current road closure on the N56 through Creeslough will remain in place.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the families of the deceased of this fatal explosion and the injured and their families.  An Garda Síochána is working diligently and as expeditiously as possible, in the circumstances, to ensure that all the circumstances of this fatal explosion are professionally investigated.”

“Today we have made a further application before the High Court to extend the period of the preservation of the scene, under Section 5, Criminal Justice Act, 2006.  This extension has been granted until November 27.  The purpose for the preservation of the scene is to ‘preserve, search for and collect evidence’ to facilitate the ongoing investigation.

“This investigation is being  coordinated from Milford Garda station where an Incident Room has been established under the direction of a Garda Senior Investigating Officer.  The investigation is being  assisted by, amongst other Garda sections, the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), Garda Analysis Service, Garda Technical Bureau, Garda National Traffic Bureau (GNTB) and Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) together with enquiry teams are made up of Gardaí attached to Local, Divisional, Regional and National units.”