Three youths die in crash

Three teenagers were killed today in a road accident in the North, police said.

The victims, all male, were in a car which was in collision with a lorry on the Belfast Road in Newry, Co Down. At least two of them were 19.

Police closed off a stretch of the road from the Derrycraw Junction to the Fourmilecross after the accident at around 12.15am.

Station Officer Michael McAteer, from Newry Fire Brigade, said: “We discovered a horrific road traffic accident. Sadly there were three young men inside the motor car who had lost their lives.”

Earlier, a 14-year-old girl died in hospital after being hit by a car in south Belfast. Heather Gallagher was struck by the vehicle on the Ormeau Road last week.

The tragedies have brought the death toll on the North's roads this year to 106, compared with 104 at the same stage 12 months ago.