Five dead in double decker bus crash

Gardaí have said a total of five people have died in the double decker bus crash in Dublin.

Three of the dead were understood to be women.

Two buses were involved in the incident.

One, a double decker, was at a bus stop taking passengers on board, when a second bus appeared to swerve and plough into the waiting queue after mounting the pavement.

A number of people were trapped under the vehicle for a period after the accident.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visited the scene soon afterwards to speak to emergency service workers.

The accident happened on Dublin’s River Liffeyside Wellington Quay, just yards from the Clarence Hotel, owned by members of the U2 rock group.

A spokesman for Dublin Bus said it was the worst accident in their history.

All the dead and injured were either standing in the bus stop queue or were pedestrians in the street, said Dublin Bus spokeswoman Grainne Mackin.

Two buses were involved in the accident, one of them striking the people, she said. It was not carrying any passengers at the time.

The body of at least one dead person was still trapped under the bus and was being released by emergency teams.