Five schoolgirls died and many other people were injured in a collision involving a crowded Bus Éireann school bus and two other vehicles in Co Meath this afternoon.
The accident happened at around 4.30pm on the Navan to Kentstown Road.
There is as yet no indication what caused the crash which occurred as the school bus was ferrying pupils home from four schools in Navan.
The dead were all pupils of Loreto Convent in Navan. The other schools involved were St Patrick's Classical School, Beaufort College and Mercy Convent.
26 injured were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, of whom six are said tonight to be in a serious condition.
Another 25 people were taken to Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. 19 of these have since been discharged. The three drivers involved were among those taken to hospital.
All the schoolgoers came from three main areas outside Navan - Beauparc, Yellow Furze and Boyne Road.
Tonight local people gathered in the parish church in Yellow Furze to pray for the dead and injured.
A total of 14 ambulances a number of fire tenders, helicopters and a large crane attended at the scene.
A number of walking wounded were treated at the scene.
