Bus 'swerved to avoid accident'

Four of the five girls who died in the bus crash

The bus in which five Irish schoolgirls were killed swerved to avoid two cars which had crashed in front of it, a pupil on the coach has said.

Three separate investigations will aim to find out the cause of the crash.

Pupils from four schools were on board when the bus overturned at Kentstown near Navan in County Meath.

One pupil said: "All I could see was two cars crashing and the bus driver had to swerve round to avoid one of the cars, because we were behind it."

She added: "We just turned round and landed in the opposite direction on the other side of the road, and then we toppled over."

The girls who died were Lisa Callan, 15, Claire McCluskey, 18, Amy McCabe, 15, Deirdre Scanlon, 17, and Sinead Ledwidge, 17.

The exact cause of the crash is not yet clear. It has emerged that the bus had not been fitted with seat belts.

This pupil said she saw the bus swerve to avoid crash

The girls who died were aged between 13 and 16 years and were pupils at St Michael's Loretto Convent School in Navan and nearby Beaufort College.

All of them were from Yellow Furze, just outside Navan. Six remain seriously ill.

Classes at the school have been suspended and psychologists are meeting to discuss what action to take to help pupils and teachers.

Irish police, the Health and Safety Executive and Bus Eireann are all conducting separate inquiries into the crash. The scene remains cordoned off.

Forty-six people were taken to hospital.

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The more seriously injured were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, the others to Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. A number of them have been discharged.

On Monday night, people gathered in the parish church to pray for the dead and injured.

Tom Mulvaney, a pastoral councillor in Yellow Furze, said the community had been devastated by the crash.

"My first duty would be to extend our deepest sympathy to the relatives, I know them all personally," he said.

In pictures: Bus crash tragedy

"I can imagine that it will bring an awful gloom onto the parish."

More than a dozen ambulances were believed to have travelled to the scene along with helicopters and heavy lifting equipment.

Ambulance crews in Northern Ireland were also put on standby to help with the injured.

The bus ended up lying on its side on the grass verge. It is believed there were road works in the area at the time of the crash.