Five die in Newry car smash

Four women and a man were killed when two cars collided head-on in Newry, Co Down, early today, police said.

Three of the women were in one of the cars. There were no survivors.

Later a fireman involved in an operation to free the bodies was struck by a hit-and-run driver. He needed hospital treatment for leg injuries but was released.

The accident happened when a blue Audi and a black Mondeo collided head-on on Dublin Road, Newry.

The road was closed for several hours as firefighters used heavy cutting equipment to free the bodies of the five victims.

It is understood that three of the victims were from Banbridge and two from Rathfriland, all in Co Down.

Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Brian McGuigan said he was horrified by the scale of the carnage, and added: “It was utter devastation.”

Three fire crews, all from Newry, were called to the scene, on a stretch of road between Drumalane Road and the junction with Forkhill Road.

Police had set up check points on both ends of the road but a driver in a red Audi who was signalled to stop failed to do so and struck one firefighter, carrying him on the bonnet of his car for almost 30 yards.

The firefighter survived and was released from Daisyhill Hospital after getting treatment for leg injuries.

The latest five deaths take to 82 the number of people killed on Northern Ireland’s roads this year.

Two men from the Republic died in Co Fermanagh on Saturday when their car was involved in an accident on the main Kesh-Enniskillen Road.