Five teenage girls were killed this evening when a school bus overturned in an horrific crash in Navan, Co Meath.
Six other people are understood to be in a critical condition in hospital following the accident which occurred shortly after 4pm on the road between Navan and Kenstown.
The bus was taking more than 50 youngsters home from four local secondary schools when it was involved in a collision with two other vehicles.
20 others are being treated for injuries at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, including the driver of the bus and the drivers of the two cars.
Two other people are said to be in a stable condition at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan.
All five victims are believed to be from Loreto Convent in Navan.
Students from the Loreto Convent, the Mercy Convent, St Patrick's College, and Beaufort College, all in Navan, were travelling on the bus.
A spokeswoman for Bus Eireann said an investigation was underway but it was too early to say what caused the accident.
The Health Service Executive said 14 emergency ambulances, including several units from the Dublin area, attended the scene.
Crews from the Northern Ireland ambulance service were also put on stand by to help with the rescue operation.
Father David O'Hanlon, a Catholic Curate in Kentstown, said distraught families had flocked to the crash scene in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.
"People are very shocked - they have been saying very little," he said.
"Naturally it's very hard to know what to say. It is an appalling scene really.
"There seemed to be 20 emergency vehicles from what I can see, a lot of distraught and shocked people standing around, helicopters and emergency services."
He said many of the children were in hysterics as they waited for up to an hour to be freed from the wreckage.
Meath Fire Service spokesperson Mary Maguire said the road will remain closed for up to 36 hours.
Patsy McDonnell, who owns a guesthouse in the area, said he travels past the scene of the accident every day. It's not a particularly dangerous stretch of road, but there were road works there today."
Bus Eireann Emergency Hotline - 01 7033410/01 7033254