Three people have been killed in an explosion at a service station in Ireland on Friday afternoon, police said.
The explosion happened at the Applegreen Service Station on the outskirts of the village of Creeslough, County Donegal, Ireland, just after 3pm.
It's sparked a major emergency plan at the nearby hospital as images showed the main part of the building, which also contains apartments and a shop, has been severely damaged from the explosion.
Police confirmed tonight that three had died, but it is unclear how many have been injured and remain trapped in the rubble.
Earlier tonight, sniffer dogs were seen trying to find those stuck under the debris and injured people were being airlifted from the scene.
A number of cars that were lined up on the forecourt have also been damaged as a result of falling debris, with concerned onlookers left shocked at the destruction.
Emergency vehicles, including fire brigades and ambulances, swarmed the scene after reports of people being trapped, with the cause of the explosion not yet confirmed.
In a statement the Irish police force, An Garda Siochana, said: "An Garda Siochana continue to assist other emergency services at the scene of a serious ongoing incident that occurred at approximately 3:20pm on Friday, 7th October, 2022, at a premises on the N56 at Creeslough, County Donegal.
"This emergency response has been led by the Donegal County Council Fire Service with assistance by An Garda Siochana, the National Ambulance Service, Irish Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Rescue 118 Helicopter, Irish Air Corps Medivac 112, Northern Ireland Ambulance HEMS, Irish Community Air Ambulance (Ground Crew), Northern Ireland Urban Search and Rescue, Meavagh Fire Service, Donegal Mountain Rescue, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HART team (Hazardous Area Response Team) and the Donegal County Council Civil Defence.
"At this time, An Garda Siochana can confirm there has been three fatalities as a result of this serious incident.
"This continues to be an ongoing operation and An Garda Siochana are not in a position to provide further information on casualties at this time.
"An Garda Siochana continue to request that any road users intending to travel to the Creeslough area for any reason consider alternative routes as emergency services continue to deal with this ongoing incident."
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said its crews are assisting emergency services at the scene of the explosion in Cresslough.
In a tweet it said: “NIAS crews, including HEMS, are currently assisting our colleagues in ROI Nat Amb Service and other 999 services at the scene of an explosion in Creeslough.
“Our thoughts are with all the emergency response teams at the scene and those who were caught in the explosion.”
