Up to 26 people were injured, three seriously, when a Luas tram collided with a bus at the junction of Abbey Street and O’Connell Street in Dublin City centre this afternoon.
The double-decker Dublin Bus was coming from O’Connell Bridge when it collided with the tram shortly before 3pm. The Luas, which was moving in the direction of Lower Abbey Street, was derailed in the crash.
The Luas driver and two female bus passengers are understood to have been seriously hurt in the collision and had to be cut out of the wreckage by members of Dublin Fire Brigade.
One eyewitness said the two female bus passengers remained trapped on the bus from up to 45 minutes after the crash.
The Mater hospital said 21 people had been brought to its emergency department by ambulances from several hospitals.
Three people were brought to Beaumont Hospital where they were treated for shock while a further patient was transferred from the Mater Hospital with serious head injuries this evening. A further two people were treated at St James.
Other people with minor injuries were treated at the scene by emergency service personnel.
A spokeswoman for Luas operator Veolia confirmed several Luas and bus passengers, including the Luas driver, had been injured in the crash. She said three people had been seriously hurt in the crash.
She said the company had begun an investigation into the incident but it was too early to give more precise details into the circumstance behind the collision.
She said the Luas red line services between Tallaght and Connolly Station were still operating between Tallaght and Smithfield and Luas tickets were valid on Dublin Bus.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Bus confirmed a number 16 bus, travelling northward to Santry, had been involved in a collision with a Luas tram.
She said at least three bus passengers had been among those taken to hospital. Dublin Bus has begun its own investigation into the cause to the crash.
Meanwhile, the Mater Hospital is requesting members of the public not to attend the emergency department until further notice due to the collision
A garda spokesman said the northbound lane of O’Connell Street remains closed as emergency services are still in attendance.