Bus Éireann apologises to passengers after door falls off vehicle

Bus Éireann has apologised to passengers after a door fell off the Sligo to Dublin service on Monday.

Passengers were alarmed by the incident in which the door fell away from the bus near Charlestown, almost one hour into the journey from Sligo Town to Galway city centre.

In a statement Bus Éireann said no passengers were injured.

The company said: “The 10.00 Route 64 (Sligo- Galway) service experienced a mechanical fault with the door, this occurred just outside Charlestown, County Mayo.

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“The driver followed all safety procedures and a replacement bus was dispatched and passengers continued their journey to Galway with a short delay. No passengers were injured.

Bus Éireann would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers using the service this morning”.

The company did not respond to requests for information on any similar incidents of doors falling off in the recent past.

Photographs taken by a passenger show the bus stopped on a straight stretch of road, the door lying flat on a grass verge with its bottom portion still connected to the mechanical arm which operated it.

Other incidents

In 2009, the then minister for transport Martin Cullen had a narrow escape when the door of an air force helicopter in which he was travelling, blew off in mid-air as the craft left Killarney National Park. Nobody was injured in the incident but the helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing.

In May this year two people were injured in a crash involving a Bus Éireann vehicle in Cork city. The incident happened when the bus and car collided along the Model Farm Road in Cork City shortly after 10pm.

A woman became trapped by the door of a Bus Éireann baggage compartment in Waterford city in August 2018. A passerby notified the driver who stopped the engine and released the door.

In July 2017 a Bus Éireann bus with passengers on board was involved in an crash near Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport. The double-decker vehicle was involved in the accident shortly after 7am.

In 2013 a woman travelling form Galway to Co Clare became trapped in the hold and carried 25 kilometres before she was freed.

In 2007 a boy fell out of a school bus in Ballinafad, Co Roscommon when the emergency doors opened.

In 2006 a boy fell out through the emergency doors of a school bus in Co Monaghan.