The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a 23-year-old Irish man was among the dead in yesterday's plane crash at the Thai resort of Phuket.
John Gerard O'Donnell, one of the Irishmen on board
Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Dermot Ahern today offered his condolences to the family of Aaron Toland from Derry who died along with 88 others in Thailand's worst air disaster to date.
Mr Toland was one of four Irish passengers on the One-Two-Go Airlines flight from Bangkok that skidded off the runway in wind and rain while trying to land in Phuket, hit a wall and split in two.
His friend Conor Cooley, also from Derry, was injured. Both young men had taken a year off after university to travel.
Two other Irishmen, John O'Donnell and William Burke, are being treated in hospital.
Mr O'Donnell said: "Our plane was landing, you can tell it was in trouble, because it kind of landed then came up again the second time".
Speaking from hospital, he said: "I came out on the wing of the plane . . . the exit door, it was kind of crushed and I had to squeeze through. And saw my friend, he was outside. He just got out before me. And next thing, it really caught fire, then I just got badly burned, my face, my legs, my arms."
Mr Ahern has offered to provide travel assistance to the families of the Irish citizens affected by the tragedy. He said he hoped that the three other Irish citizens involved in the crash will make a speedy recovery.
Two flight data recorders from the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 plane, which was carrying 123 passengers, were today sent to the United States for examination.
Thai authorities said it was too early to say what caused the crash. Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen said the black boxes would be sent to the United States for analysis. "Hopefully, we will learn in a few weeks the cause of accident," he said.
Safety workers remove an injured passenger from the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 which skidded off the runway in driving wind and rain, hit a low wall and split in two.
Kajit Habnanonda, president of Orient-Thai Airlines, which owns carrier One-Two-Go, said wind shear - the rapid change in wind speed - was a possible cause of the crash.
Heavy rains could have contributed to the plane skidding off the runway, he added.
Many budget airlines use older planes that have been leased or purchased after years of use by other airlines.
According to Thai and US aviation registration data, the plane that crashed in Phuket was made and put into use in 1983, and began flying in Thailand in March this year.
One-Two-Go Airlines is the domestic subsidiary of Orient-Thai Airlines, a regional charter carrier based in Thailand.