Eight secondary school students, two teachers, a bus driver and a truck driver were taken to hospital following a collision between a lorry and a bus in Co Kilkenny this morning.
The crash happened on the N77 close to the Dinan Bridge on the Kilkenny to Ballyragget Road at Ardloo, shortly before 10am.
Gardaí said around 40 Transition Year students from Coláiste Phobal Ros Cré in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, were travelling to Kilkenny with their teachers when the collision took place.
The injured included boys and girls and most are aged around 16.
Their injuries were described as not serious and in most cases they were brought to the hospital for precautionary reasons.
The truck driver, a man in his 40s, was airlifted to Tallaght University Hospital, while the eight students and two teachers were taken at St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny.
Seven of the students and one of the teachers were later discharged, the school said.
The driver of the bus, a man in his 50s, was taken to Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.
A spokesperson for the school told RTÉ News the school is managing the situation and "our students and staff are our priority at the moment".
They added: "The National Educational Psychological Service is in the school offering support and our critical incident plan has been put in place."
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was driving on the N77 with dashcam footage to contact them.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Kilkenny Garda station on 056 7775000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Kilkenny county councillor, Pat Fitzpatrick, described the outcome of the collision as a "pure miracle".
He said all of the students were able to walk to the ambulances that attended the scene.
"It was just a pure miracle, somebody was looking down on that bus this morning.... the road is very, very narrow.
"It is at the mouth of the bridge it happened, and it is just a really, really dangerous spot."
