Four Bosnian nationals, two men and two women, were killed instantly yesterday when the car in which they were travelling was in collision with a truck near Skerries, Co Dublin.
The accident happened at about 6.50 a.m. on a bend at Balcunnin. Gardai said the driving conditions were normal. The four were believed to be on their way to work on a local farm when the accident happened. It was reported that their car hit the truck head on. They were taken to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin after the accident.
The dead people were named as: Mr Zijad Kobastic (47), Mr Sabit Ibrahimi (59), Ms Fata Hota (54) and Ms Dika Dizdarevic (42).
Mr Kobastic lived in Hunterstown, Clonee. The other three people were living in Mulhuddart.
Three units of the Swords ambulance service, two fire brigade units and local gardai attended the scene of the accident.
The driver of the truck was understood not to be seriously injured. It is believed the four Bosnian nationals worked on a farm in the Lusk/Skerries area picking scallions.
Many farms in north Dublin employ foreign nationals, particularly Bosnians and Latvians, as labourers harvesting fruit and vegetables and picking flowers, due to the difficulty in recruiting Irish staff.
Members of the tightly-knit community of foreign nationals in north Dublin were shocked at the news of the deaths yesterday. Some farmers who employ foreign people rang recruitment agencies to establish whether it was any member of their own staff who had been killed.
Gardai in Skerries are seeking witnesses to the crash. The road in question would have been busy at the time of the accident yesterday morning. The phone number for Skerries station is 01-8491212. Witnesses may also contact Balbriggan Garda Station at 01-8412202.