Five people killed in ‘horror’ car smash

A horrific head-on collision between two cars on the Dublin Road near Newry has resulted in the deaths of five people.

The accident, which occurred at 1.30 am on Monday morning, killed two sisters and a daughter from County Down, who were the occupants of one of the vehicles, while in the other car, a brother and sister from Meigh near the County Armagh border, both lost their lives.

Emergency service personnel called to the scene described the crash as “horrific”. All the occupants had to be cut from the wreckage of the cars and are understood to have died at the time of the crash.

The accident has closed the Dublin Road from the Drumalane Road to the Forkhill junctions, and a diversion will be in place for much of today while the scene of the incident is investigated.

Anyone who may have witnessed the fatal accident has been asked to contact Newry police.

A fireman has also been injured during a later incident at the scene of the crash, when a car failed to stop at a police diversion and struck the man. He was carried for a short distance on the bonnet of the car and suffered leg injuries. The fireman was later discharged from hospital. The vehicle which was believed to have been involved was later found nearby.

(SP)