FIVE PEOPLE ARE receiving treatment in hospital after a building collapsed in Co Mayo this morning.
Duffy’s Bar in the east Mayo village of Kilkelly collapsed at around 8.50am this morning, collapsing on top of a parked van and covering the pathway and part of the road in rubble.
Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene and five people, a family who were staying in a B&B above the pub, were taken to hospital, where they remain this evening.
Their injuries are understood to be non life-threatening.
Main Street in Kilkelly is closed as a result of the building collapse and local diversions are in place.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said it has launched an investigation into the incident.
Speaking to The Journal, Fianna Fáil councillor John Caulfield said it was “nothing short of a miracle” that nobody was killed when the three-storey building collapsed.
“If you were to see what they came out of, it is nothing short of a miracle. You couldn’t imagine that people could come out of it,” he said.
He said he was on the scene moments after the incident occurred and that while four people got out of the building immediately, one woman had to be assisted from the ruins by emergency services, which took around an hour.
He said it was “such a relief” for those gathered on the street that no one was killed.
Caulfield said the pub had been operating in the village for around 120 years by four generations of the same family.
“It was literally part of our community, so it was. It had a lot of history with it. It’s just very sad, and yet we’re celebrating. We’re celebrating the fact that there’s no lives lost,” he said.
“Another very important aspect was it would be a route taken to school by youngsters going to school. 8:50am would have been the time would have been walking past but fortunately, the school is off this week. Otherwise it could have been far worse
Paul Lawless, a Mayo-based peace commissioner, praised the work of the emergency services and also said the incident could have been a lot worse.
He said he hoped that those injured get well soon and said his thoughts were with the owners of Duffy’s pub.
“It’s very sad to see a building with so much history, a business that served the people of the region for over 100 years as a pub and grocer, brought to its knees this morning.
“Kevin and Maureen Duffy ran an excellent establishment; it’s a big blow to all the family and the entire community.
“It’s truly a miracle that no-one was killed or badly injured. Fortunately, the incident occurred when the street was quiet, and schools were on mid-term break, sparing potential casualties.”
He said that locals were “in shock” and “disbelief” that the pub had been reduced to “rubble in seconds”.
“Credit to the emergency services and the gardaí. My understanding is that they were on the scene very, very quickly and because the building wasn’t totally collapsed, they were working under hazardous conditions themselves to help the people involved, so a huge credit to them.
“I think they came from Charlestown, Swinford and Kiltimagh fire stations, so they were very, very quick on the scene here – they would (belong) to retained fire services in the area.”
Contains reporting from Press Association
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