Four young people died when the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree in Co Fermanagh early today.
The victims — two girls aged 16 and 17 and two men aged 21 — were in the back of a green Honda Civic car when it left careered off Murlough Road near Lisnaskea in County Fermanagh at around 3.30am.
The four backseat passengers died while the front seat passenger and driver were hurt, but their injuries are not life-threatening.
Police Inspector Ian Kennedy in Enniskillen said it would be some time before the exact cause of the crash could be established. "Our officers are currently examining the scene and they will obviously want to talk to the driver, although at this time his medical needs come first," he said.
"There is an awful lot of damage done to the vehicle and the fire services had to cut parts of it away.
"Quite a few people have turned up at the scene not because they want to see it but because they have a connection with the people involved.
"All six people in the car were from the Newtownbutler and Lisnaskea areas. "Accidents like this always tend to have massive impact and not just on the people related to those killed or injured, but on the entire community".
It is understood the 16-year-old girl victim and one of the 21-year-old men were from Newtownbutler. The 17-year-old girl and the other 21-year-old man were from Lisnaskea.
The driver and front-seat passenger, who are being treated for their injuries at the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen, were also from Newtownbutler.
The driver and front-seat passenger of the green Honda Civic involved in today's accident were able to free themselves from the wreckage.
It was not clear how many of the back seat passengers were wearing seatbelts.
PA