A man has died following an explosion inside a homeless hostel in Dublin city centre.
The man, who was in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene on Little Britain Street in Dublin 7.
His body has been removed to the city morgue where a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out.
Gardaí are investigating the cause of the blast, which happened in one room in the building.
None of the other residents were injured and the hostel’s operator, Depaul Ireland, has described it as a localised incident.
The incident happened at around 3.30pm on Thursday at the Supported Temporary Accommodation.
The Garda Technical Bureau carried out a technical examination of the scene, while members of the Army Bomb Disposal Team examined the hostel.
The ESB and Gas Networks Ireland also attended the scene.
Residents reported hearing a bang and then seeing smoke before they were evacuated from the premises.
A number of residents were seen standing outside the building wrapped in foil sheets.
They have been sent to a nearby homeless facility for temporary shelter.
A total of 73 people were being housed in the Depaul hostel on Little Britain Street.
It was the scene of a fire two years ago in which six people were injured, one of them seriously.
Hostel resident Roberto Claudio Muscedere said he heard a bang inside the hostel before an alarm went off and smoke appeared.
He said he was staying on the second floor of the building and as residents were being evacuated they were told part of the building had collapsed.
“Everyone is scared and unsure of where they are going to go tonight,” he said.
Francis O’Driscoll another resident described how he was woken by the smell of smoke.
Jason O’Brien and Karen Meehan said they were leaving the building when the alarm sounded and they were told to leave the building.
In a statement, Depaul said “all service users in our Little Britain Street service have been evacuated from the building tonight and alternative placements have been found”.
“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.”
Gardaí have appealed for information and have asked anyone who can assist in the investigation to contact the Bridewell Garda Station on 01 6668200 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Investigations are ongoing, gardaí said.
