Father of Creeslough victim Leona Harper says she was a 'little gem'

The father of a 14-year-old girl who died in an explosion at a petrol station in Creeslough, Co Donegal, has described her as a "little gem".

Leona Harper was one of 10 people who lost their lives in the tragedy on Friday.

"She was very special, very, very special," her dad Hugh Harper told Highland Radio. "She's going to be very sorely missed.

"Leona was a little gem, very outgoing, very friendly, a lovely person, very quiet, laid-back, loved life, loved the outdoors, walking through fields, going fishing, spending time with friends, going to car shows."

Leona's mother Donna thanked the digger driver who found her body after a 24-hour search.

"I didn't personally know the digger driver - a massive thank you to him because he just didn't stop until he got her," she said.

"Twenty-four hours before we got her and she was the last taken out.

"The doctors and everything, everybody was amazing the way they treated the whole scene from start to finish with nothing more than respect."

Those who died were 50-year-old Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe; 48-year-old James O'Flaherty; 24-year-old Jessica Gallagher; 49-year-old Martin McGill; 39-year-old Catherine O'Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan; 59-year-old Hugh Kelly; 49-year-old Martina Martin; and 14-year-old Leona Harper.

Books of condolence are to open following the fatal explosion.

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