Mayo TD Paul Lawless has said that the community in Ballyhaunis and beyond is grieving the loss of a 12-year-old boy who died following a collision between a train and a car last night.
The boy and a man in his late 40s were travelling in a car when the collision took place at a user-operated level crossing at Kiltybo, near Ballyhaunis, shortly before 9pm.
The young boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was brought o hospital by amulance for treatment, while his inuries have been described as not life-threatening.
The train was travelling had been travelling Heuston in Dublin to Westport.
Mayo TD Paul Lawless, commenting on the train crash tragedy, said: “The community is in grief at this awful news. It is a terrible shock and a heartbreaking loss.”
The Aontú deputy said his thoughts are with the family of the young boy who died last night near Ballyhaunis and said a review of safety is needed for small rural crossings.
The Mayo TD lives in the locality and said the whole whole community has been shocked and deeply saddened by the loss.
He said: “We have yet to hear the details, but it would seem to be a horrible freak accident. I can’t recall such a fatal crash on a rail line ever happening here before. It is very rare in Ireland.
“It is heartbreaking to think this lad was at the start of his young life, coming home from training and with everything ahead of him. I believe he had only recently had the joy of seeing the Sam Maguire when Mayo captain Jack Coyne brought it to Ballyhaunis GAA club.
“To think his life was snatched away in such a tragic way is horrifying. We are all thinking of his family and his father who is in hospital after the accident.
“This crossing is only around the corner from me and I know it well. In general, these are very rural and are not automated and can be little more than traffic lights with gates that users open and shut and can be confusing, for example, for motorists who may not be familiar with it.
“In the aftermath of this particular incident, we will have to ensure that there are adequate safety measures and warning systems in place at such rural level crossings. There will have to be a full review of such safeguards and an investigation to establish what happened.”
The level crossing runs across a secondary road that intersects with the N60. All passengers who were on the train safely disembarked and onward transport was arranged following the tragic crash.
Following the crash, all passengers on the train safely disembarked and onward transport was arranged.
Iarnród Éireann said its “thoughts are with everyone affected. It added that investigators had attended the scene from “first light” this morning, and that they were examining the condition of the train, along with the safety signals and logs.
Iarnród Éireann spokesperson John Larson said that based on the recommendation of the railway inspectors and An Garda Síochána”, a decision would be made on when the train can be removed from the scene and when services can resume.
A technical examination of the scene is to be carried out by forensic investigators.
Gardaí are appealing to road users and pedestrians with camera footage (including dash-cam) who were in the area of Kiltybo, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, between 8.15pm and 9.15pm last night, to make it available to them.