Fire services workers in Waterford say they were "astounded" by the number of people trying to take photos of a fatal road crash in which a toddler died.
Two year old Daenerys Crosbie died when she was struck by a truck on Manor Street in Waterford on Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, Waterford City Fire Service said the practice of bystanders taking pictures at the scene was an ongoing trend in recent years.
The post describes it as "ghoulish, thoughtless and extremely distasteful", and they're asking for the public to think about the affect of their actions on relatives of victims.
"We walk a straight line on this page, trying not to criticise or condemn but following yesterday's tragedy in Manor Street it's time to weigh in on this.
"The crew at the scene were astounded by the number of people trying to capture the incident on their phones. This has been an ongoing trend for a number of years now, never better illustrated than at an RTA not too long ago where a man (In his thirties, not a teenager) crept up, phone poised and recording, to within ten feet or so of a car where we were trying to extricate the driver while the ambulance crew were treating him. The driver died en route to hospital.
"Why do people do this? It's ghoulish, thoughtless and extremely distasteful. We could fill this page with photos of the injured and dead that we see. But we don't.
"Sometimes it's enough to know that horrible things happen without having to see them. Most obviously there's the matter of respect for the dignity of the people involved and the desire of paramount importance to not add to the grief and anguish felt by their families and friends.
"So if you know somebody who considers this kind of thing alright ask them to think about it just a little more."