An Irishman and three others were killed in a helicopter crash in northern India yesterday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed an Irish citizen has died in India, and said it was in the process of notifying the family involved and providing "all consular assistance".
The accident occurred near the tourist town of Manali in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, 225 miles north of New Delhi. All on board the helicopter died.
Police named the passengers as Irishman Mr John Murphy, Ms Plaza S Castano, from Colombia, and local hotel receptionist Ms Madhavi Gautam. The pilot was Mr Kishen Tomar.
Police said the helicopter had taken off from Manali early yesterday, and was taking people on a mountain ski trip. It lost contact with air traffic control after 15 minutes on its way to Sathan, a ski resort.
"Shortly afterwards, it crashed into a stream," said a police official.
The helicopter is reported to have clipped an overhead cable used for logging in the mountainous area near Manali, according to Mr Manjeev Bhalla, general manager of Himalayan Heli Services, which owned the aircraft.
The official cause of the crash has not been established, and the authorities are investigating.