A WOMAN has died and seven people have been injured following a head-on crash between two vehicles on the N71 road between Clonakilty and Rosscarbery in west Cork.
The crash happened shortly before 11am yesterday at a bend in the road close to the Pike Bar between Clonakilty and Rosscarbery.
Units of the Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen and Clonakilty attended at the scene. Eight HSE vehicles were also present including two paramedic units. Three Garda vehicles from Clonakilty also attended.
There were seven occupants in one vehicle - a people-carrier travelling east towards Clonakilty - while there were five people in the other car, which was heading west towards Rosscarbery.
The woman who died was in the car travelling towards Rosscarbery. A Garda spokesman said the woman, who has as yet to be identified, was in a hire car. "It was a hired car but we haven't ascertained if she was a resident or here on holiday. We have yet to identify her and don't have an age for her. That is the stage of the investigation we are at."
The injured people were taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH). One was said to be in a "serious condition". Seven people required medical treatment at CUH for non-life-threatening injuries.
Road diversions were put in place as the route between the Rosscarbery Causeway and the Pike near Clonakilty was closed. Garda forensic road crash investigators examined the crash site yesterday.
Local Fine Gael councillor Humphrey Deegan described the death of the woman as a "terrible tragedy" and called for the introduction of special road signs on bends comparable to those in New Zealand.
"The stretch of road [ where the crash occurred] has just been resurfaced. What I would be proposing now in the wake of this crash is that we adopt the system they have on bends in New Zealand. There on the tourist routes they have a recommended speed on bends. It is a little squiggle sign.
"It is just one more thing we could do to make it safe. It is a bad stretch of road but we thought it would be safer after being resurfaced."
West Cork councillor Noel O'Donovan (FG) also expressed concern about the stretch of road where the crash occurred, saying it needed to be widened in order to save lives.
"Local people know what to expect when they get to that stretch of road but it is vital that it is widened, particularly for people such as tourists who do not know the road and are travelling at speed."
The Garda has asked witnesses to the crash to contact them on 023-882 1570.