Five people in a bus carrying Irish and Belgian tourists were killed yesterday when their vehicle collided with a lorry in Istria, in the northwest of Croatia, according to the Department of Transport.
It had not been established last night if any of those killed were Irish. However, a department spokeswoman said there was "a strong possibility" of Irish fatalities. One other person was seriously injured and is in a critical condition following the accident.
Overnight, the Croatian authorities were trying to identify the people killed and the family members of those who died were to be informed late last night or early today.
The accident took place yesterday afternoon and the five fatalities were among the bus passengers. The occupants of the lorry were uninjured.
"The department was made aware of a road traffic accident in Croatia with Irish citizens involved. . ," the spokeswoman said.
She said it was known that there were Irish and Belgium citizens aboard but she could not confirm at this stage how many were Irish.
"We know that a bus crashed with a lorry." She added that the bus was a small vehicle and the cause of the crash was still unknown. It appears to have been a private rather than a public bus.
"We have few details yet. The accident took place in the Istria region and the Croatian authorities are trying to identify those involved," she added.
The Department of Transport is expected to announce the names of those killed in the accident today.
The Irish Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is liaising with the Croatian authorities in relation to the crash.