A father and his young daughter are described as critical but stable in hospital in Dublin following a gas explosion at their home in Rathfarnam yesterday.
The man was transferred to St James's Hospital from Tallaght last night. The man's six-year-old daughter is being treated at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.
Two other children injured in the explosion are being treated at Temple Street Hospital. They are believed to be in a stable condition.
It is thought that a gas leak under a nearby footpath may have caused the explosion that seriously injured the man and his three children. His wife escaped uninjured.
The roof was blown off the three-bedroom house and the force of the blast blew the windows and doors across the street. Some neighbouring houses were evacuated for a time.
In a statement, An Bord Gáis said a fitter was surveying a neighbouring house, following a reported smell of natural gas in the area, when the explosion occurred. The fitter alerted the emergency services.An Bord Gáis said the area has now been made safe and that its personnel are co-operating with the authorities and emergency services to establish the cause of theincident.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Irelandthis morning, Mr Gerry Geoghegan of An Bord Gáis said there were indications that underground work carried out some time ago by other bodies in the vicinity of the explosion may have damaged the gas pipeline. However, this was still under investigation, he said.
The gas company said that having made the area safe, its priority is to repair the damage to the mains and to continue monitoring and surveying the area. The investigation, which will also involve the Garda, the Health and Safety Authority and other bodies, is ongoing.