Two arrested in Gardaí probe into Donegal Creeslough explosion

Two people were arrested as part of the investigation by Gardai into the fatal explosion at a petrol station in Creeslough, County Donegal.

Ten people were killed in the explosion which ripped through a petrol station and apartment block in October 2022.

On Monday morning Gardaí arrested a man and a woman aged in their 40s and were detained in separate police stations in Donegal.

The Gardaí stated the arrests were made in connection with alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

The investigation is being led by local Gardaí, in Donegal Division supported by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and other agencies including the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) & the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU).

It has never been given publicly stated what caused the explosion.

Irish police previously said the incident was being treated as a tragic accident, with a gas leak considered as one possibility.

There has been thousands of lines of enquiry and over 900 statements taken as part of the investigation. Various Garda agencies are involved in the investigation and are being assisted by the Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas, which specialises in investigating and testing energy systems.

The four men, three women and three young people killed in the explosion were aged between five and 59.

They were Robert Garwe and his five-year-old daughter Shauna Flanagan-Garwe, Catherine O’Donnell and her 13-year-old son James Monaghan, fashion student Jessica Gallagher, Celtic fan Martin McGill, Sydney native James O’Flaherty, shop worker Martina Martin, carpenter Hugh ‘Hughie’ Kelly and 14-year-old Leona Harper.

On Tuesday, the two people were released without charge.

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