A two-year-old girl and her two-month-old baby sister have been killed in a car accident in Co Galway this afternoon.
The incident happened on the N17 near the turnoff for Dunmore just before 2pm.
The girls were hit by a car as they were walking with their father on the hard shoulder. They were taken to University College Hospital Galway where they were pronounced dead.
The driver of the car, who was the vehicle's sole occupant, and the father of the girls were taken to UCHG with injuries described as not life-threatening.
The N17 is currently closed near the turnoff for Dunmore pending completion of an examination by garda forensic collision investigators. Local diversions are in place.
The crash happened on the northern outskirts of Tuam on the Milltown Road section of the N17, near to the turn off for Dunmore.
Local councillor Michael Connolly said the incident was an “absolute tragedy”.
“It’s a tragedy for the family and a tragedy for the whole community in the Tuam area,” he said. “Words cannot describe the loss this family has suffered.
“A father brings his family out for a walk on a Sunday and this happens - could anything be worse than that?”