Jason Black, the former road racing cyclist turned endurance athlete, has spoken to surviving the explosion in Creeslough, Co Donegal, last week before gathering himself in the destroyed petrol station and immediately going into the damaged building to try and rescue others.
Despite being stunned, and blown back, by the blast he managed to locate and rescue a child from the rubble. He then remained on at the site for hours in a bid to aid the emergency services after they arrived on the scene.
Black, who is now best known for climbing some of the highest mountains in the world and also for competing in endurance races, including cycling events, very sadly lost his cousin in the explosion. Tina Martin, who worked at the Applegreen service station beside the building where the explosion occurred, was one of 10 people to die in the tragedy and her funeral took place yesterday.
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When the explosion occurred Black was blown backwards from the entrance of the service station and found himself in the rubble of the largely demolished buildings. However, he managed to steady himself and when he heard the injured inside, he went into the building.
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This is such devastating news for the people of Cresslough. Thinking of the emergency services and everyone involved in this explosion. pic.twitter.com/qCYNHKNEuE
— Sinéad McLaughlin MLA (@SineadMcL4Foyle) October 7, 2022
He located a schoolgirl, still wearing her school bag, and managed to bring the injured girl to safety, away from the damaged building.
“Part of the shop had collapsed, water was coming in, there was still a huge risk of danger. I could hear people crying from underneath," he told The Times newspaper, adding he pulled out a torch and tried to follow the sound of the people trapped inside.
“I just told them all that it was me, I was there, and that if they could hear me to just please hold on,” he explained. “There were three people that I could clearly locate deep in the rubble. All I could do was try to comfort them and let them know that the emergency services were on the way. With the magnitude of the destruction and debris . . . it was beyond my capabilities to do anything else.”
He said the explosion - the cause of which is not yet known but may have been an accidental gas leak - as “like a pulse, like a deep bass sound, not like a high octane explosion”.
“There was no flame or ignition, it was just a puff. And then it went from normal everyday life to a horrific scene on a scale that you just cannot comprehend."
