2 men arrested over an Irish gas station explosion that killed 10 in 2022

LONDON (AP) — Two men were arrested Friday in connection with a gas station explosion in 2022 that killed 10 people and tore apart the heart of a village in northwestern Ireland, police said.

The blast shattered Creeslough, County Donegal, a village of 400 near Ireland’s rugged Atlantic coast. The Applegreen gas station and a building that housed the town’s main shop and post office were destroyed and an adjacent apartment building was damaged. Flying debris shattered windows in nearby cottages.

Four men, three women, two teenagers and a 5-year-old girl were killed. Eight people were injured.

Ireland’s police force, An Garda Siochana, said two men in their 50s were in custody but released no details about their alleged connection to the deadly eruption.

They were arrested on suspicion of violating the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, a statute more typically used for crimes such as assault, threats to kill or endangerment.

In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2022 blast, police said evidence pointed toward a tragic accident.

Then-Prime Minister Micheál Martin called it one of the “darkest of days for Donegal and the entire country.”