Police say Ireland petrol station explosion was 'freak accident' as girl among 10 killed in tragedy

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The suspected cause of an explosion at a petrol station in Ireland has been revealed by police.

A five-year-old girl, four men, three women and two teenagers are believed to have been killed in the horror blast in Creeslough, Co Donegal on Friday afternoon.

The local hospital declared a major emergency as locals rushed to help rescue people who could be heard crying for help beneath the rubble, the Mirror reports.

READ MORE: Primary school child among 10 confirmed dead after petrol station explosion

Police investigating the tragedy have now confirmed a girl of primary school age died in the tragedy, and that the explosion is thought to have been a "freak" accident.

Photos from the scene showed a two-storey apartment block above the petrol station's store with walls blown out and a partially collapsed roof, and debris scattered across the forecourt where several cars were parked.

On Friday evening, sniffer dogs were brought to the rubble in a bid to find people still stuck under the debris, while injured people were being airlifted from the scene.

At one stage, rescue crews asked onlookers to remain silent as they switched off machinery and listened out for anyone still trapped in the wreckage. Police believe the cause of the explosion was accidental, and said it is the largest number of civilian casualties seen in decades in the region.

At a media conference this afternoon, Garda press spokesman Liam Geraghty said: "The emergency services continue a search and recovery operation at the site this afternoon but based on the information available to An Garda Siochana at this time it is not expected that there will be any further casualties located and there are no outstanding reports of unaccounted for persons.

"The 10