A Co Cork security camera captured the moment a double decker bus collided with a wall after skidding on an icy road.
Video footages shows that the 6.45am Bus Éireann 215 service from Tower to Jacobs Island in Cork City lost control approaching Blarney, causing the bus to turn in a complete circle after hitting a low wall of a garage in the village.
Locals were on Monday expressing relief that nobody was seriously injured in the incident as the driver and the four passengers who were on-board at the time were unharmed.
Bus Éireann said in a statement that the vehicle lost control on a patch of black ice.
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Local Fine Gael Cllr Damian Boylan told The Irish Times that it was “a miracle” no one was hurt.
“The bus was coming from Tower, and it came past the entrance to the old Blarney Park Hotel and it just spun out of control on the black ice and clattered into the wall of Hoares’ Garage before coming to a halt,” Mr Boylan said.
“There were four people on board, and everybody just walked away – they were so lucky because when it spun out of control, it looked for an instant it was going to topple over but all credit to the bus designers because it stayed upright – otherwise it could have been very serious.”
“The council staff from Tower had gone out and gritted the road the night before and did a great job but it rained around 4am and that froze and it was that ice that caused the problem.”
Mr Boylan said that there was “carnage” on the roads around The Square in Blarney with an articulated lorry skidding on black ice coming down by the Church of the Immaculate Conception and colliding with a wall of the church grounds, causing damage to the masonry and a lamp-post.
Cars also skidded trying to drive around The Square with some crashing into another wall resulting in several vehicles being damaged.
“A lot of the drivers were badly shaken but thankfully no one was seriously hurt – people were very lucky because the roads really were deadly,” Mr Boylan said.
Bus Éireann said in a statement to The Irish Times: “Difficult driving conditions resulted in the vehicle slipping on black ice. There were no reported injuries, and passengers were accommodated on another Bus Éireann service.
“The incident has been reported to An Garda Síochána, and the vehicle is undergoing assessment prior to repair.”
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