Two teenage girls have been killed and five others injured, two of them seriously, in a road accident near the village of Kilreekil in Co Galway.
They were part of a group of 30 who were travelling to Connemara on the N6 for a three-day outdoor pursuits course organised by the Islamic Cultural Centre in Dublin.
One of the three vehicles being used by the group hit a road traffic sign pole at the eastern entrance to the village and went through a wall into a field.
Two teenagers aged 13 and 14 were fatally injured in the impact and died at the scene.
The other five in the people carrier have been taken to hospitals in Galway and Ballinasloe.
There were anguished scenes at the Centre tonight as the families of the girls waited for news from Galway as to which girls had died and been injured.
Shortly before 8pm, the remaining two minibuses returned to the Centre from Galway, after a decision was taken to cancel the trip and bring the other girls back to Dublin.
A spokesperson for the Centre said it was a very sad night for the organisers, who regularly arrange outings and activities for their patrons.
Jamie Young of the Little Killary Adventure Centre in Connemara said he was deeply saddened by news of the accident and the death of the two young girls.
He said they wanted to extend their deepest sympathy to the families of the girls and to let them know they were in their thoughts tonight.
A section of the Loughrea to Ballinasloe road has been closed and traffic diversions are in place.
Gardaí have sealed off the accident scene and are now trying to establish the sequence of events which led to the collision.
Motorists are being advised to avoid the area as there are long delays.
Kilreekil is one of Co Galway's worst traffic accident blackspots and has been the scene of several fatal accidents in recent years.
Man dies in two-car crash in Co Clare
Earlier, a 70-year-old man was killed in a two-car collision in Ennis, Co Clare.
A section of the Western Relief Road that links with the Ennis bypass is closed until further notice.
The accident occurred at around 10am when a van and a car collided on a link road, in the vicinity of One Mile Inn, west of Ennis.
The two male drivers were the sole occupants of the vehicles.
Ian Muir, who was originally from Scotland, was pronounced dead at Ennis General Hospital. The second man, in his 30s, suffered minor injuries.
Garda forensic investigators were at the scene this afternoon.
The N85 link road between the Claureen and Beechpark roundabouts was closed to traffic until further notice.
Traffic on the N18 Ennis Bypass was not affected.
