An eight-year-old girl died this afternoon in hospital hours after her seven-year-old brother was killed in a crash in Co Kildare.
Another sibling is in a serious condition at the paediatric unit of Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
The tragedy happened after the car their mother was driving was in collision with a lorry at around 8.30am in the townland of Walterstown, near Nurney.
The HSE said the lorry driver, who was travelling alone, was not treated in either Naas or Portlaoise hospitals.
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A Garda spokesman said the road was closed for most of the day while officers from the traffic corps carried out investigations into the cause of the crash. Motorists were asked to avoid the area if possible.