INVESTIGATIONS are under way in Co Donegal into the cause of a collision between a car and a bus carrying students which resulted in the death of the driver of the car.
The collision happened on a dangerous bend at about 4.30pm at Kilross on the main Ballybofey to Letterkenny road. The Bus Éireann bus was travelling from Derry and had collected 28 secondary school students from the Royal and Prior in Raphoe when it collided with the car, which was travelling from Ballybofey.
The bus overturned into a field. A fleet of ambulances rushed to the scene from Letterkenny General Hospital along with a number of units from the Fire Service.
The driver of the Volkswagen Passat car, a 34-year-old man from Letterkenny, was cut free, but he died a short time later in hospital.
A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed that two students, the bus driver and a pensioner received minor injuries.
While the 1997 Volvo bus was fitted with seat-belts, many of the students were not wearing them.
"It is absolutely miraculous that none of them were seriously injured or killed," said Supt Vincent O'Brien, of Letterkenny Garda station.
He said that their major emergency plan had not been activated. However, measures were put in place at the hospital to cope with the large number of students and parents who had arrived there.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone who may have been travelling along the road between 4.15pm and 4.30pm to contact Ballybofey gardaí on 07491 31002.