Controlled explosion carried out at homeless hostel where man died in blast

The scene in Little Britain Street off Capel Street as emergency services respond to a suspected explosion where one person has died at a residential premises in Dublin city centre.

A controlled explosion was carried out at the scene where a man died in a blast at a hostel in Dublin city, as gardaí ruled out a gas leak theory.

Army bomb disposal technicians are assisting gardaí with their investigation into the fatal explosion.

One man died in an explosion at the DePaul hostel on Little Britain Street. The man, aged in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The explosion was confined to one room within the property, and no one else was injured.

In a statement late on Thursday night, gardaí said they are "actively investigating the cause of an explosion" and have commenced a forensic and technical examination with assistance from the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal service. 

The army’s explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) unit attended the scene late on Thursday night and its robot was deployed.

The EOD carried out a post-blast analysis and clearance of the scene, which included a controlled explosion.

The operation concluded at around 00.30am.

It is understood that gardaí have ruled out the blast being caused by a gas leak or gas heater, and are examining what is in the room.

De Paul has confirmed all of the people who lived in the homeless shelter were safely evacuated and alternative accommodation for them has been found.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "Depaul can confirm that all service users in our Little Britain Street service have been evacuated from the building tonight and alternative placements have been found following the incident today. 

"The building was evacuated in an exemplary manner, adhering to our safety protocol. 

Our heart goes out to the service user who lost their life, as well as their family and service users who were in the building at the time. 

"This was an isolated incident, confined to one room and no other service users were physically harmed in this incident. 

"We wish to thank the emergency services, DRHE, and our NGO partners for their assistance in the emergency response."

An autopsy is due to be carried out on Friday on the man who died. 

An army explosive ordnance disposal truck arrives at the scene of an explosion at the Depaul supported temporary accommodation on Little Britain Street in Dublin's north inner city. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

One man who was in the hostel when the explosion happened, described hearing a bang and seeing a lot of smoke as they were evacuated.

"There was a big panic and they just told us all to run out the exit doors," Wayne said.

It wasn't a big bang, he explained, "just a little bang".

"When we were walking out, me and my girlfriend, we looked up and seen a big cloud of smoke coming out the roof."

Locals and members of the public were seen asking gardaí about the cordon, and one woman who lives near the area asked a Garda if she was safe in her accommodation.

“It came up on the news feed that there was an explosion. So I just asked the guard there now ‘are we safe?'” the woman, who did not want to be named, told the PA news agency.

“Because we were looking down on it earlier not knowing the facts.

“My sister is visiting and she heard the explosion around 2pm-ish. I didn’t because I had the tap running and the vent on over the cooker.” 

She said the gardaí had told her she was safe.

In a statement, a Garda spokesperson said: "Anyone with information that can assist investigating gardaí is asked to contact the Bridewell Garda Station on 01 6668200 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111."

- Additional reporting by PA