Army officer hurt in Cork explosion

A member of the Army Explosives Ordnance Disposal team was taken to hospital in Cork last night after an explosive device went off under a car.

It is not believed the bomb disposal expert was  injured when the object detonated under a car in Ballyvolane at 12.50am. Nobody else was injured in the blast, which happened after gardaí had evacuated up to 20 houses in Meadow park Grove.

The officer's injuries are described as minor, including cuts, bruises and flash injuries. He was released from hospital this afternoon.

The alarm was raised at around 10.30pm when a member of the public spotted a device under the car in the estate on the city's northside. Gardaí were alerted and set about moving 20 families from the immediate area.

Gardaí set up a cordon around the car and the suspicious device and notified the bomb disposal team from Collins Barracks who arrived and were about to defuse the device when it exploded.

Gardaí had earlier arrested a man in 30s under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act after he tried to breach the cordon. The man was taken to Mayfield Garda station where he was questioned last night.

Garda technical experts are expected to carry out a forensic examination of the remains of the explosive device later today.