News: As the bodies of those killed in last Saturday's bus crash on Dublin's Wellington Quay are released to their families this morning, gardaí are still waiting to interview the two bus drivers involved in the accident.
Crash investigators attached to both the garda and Dublin Bus investigations are anxious to speak to the drivers. The bus company said yesterday the "level of distress and coherency are issues which are still being addressed by specialist counsellors".
Counselling was also made available to those injured and bereaved over the weekend. Eight of those injured in the accident were still in three Dublin hospitals last night.
All were described as stable and not critical. Some four victims, three women and one man, were being treated at the Mater. One woman was being treated in St Vincent's and three women were still in St James's.
Funeral arrangements for the four Irish victims had not been finalised last night.
The remains of Ukrainian national Mr Vasul Tyminskyy are due to be flown home from Dublin airport on Thursday. Dublin Bus has made arrangements for the dead man's wife and daughter and a family friend to fly home with the body. There will be a religious service in Dublin on Wednesday for Mr Tyminskyy.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said the bus company would provide financial support for funeral arrangements, as well as counselling for the injured and their families.
In the absence of formal interviews with the drivers the investigations have centred on eye-witness reports and the possibility of CCTV security footage from business premises.
According to the bus company, the series of events which led up to the accident involved a Lucan-bound bus arriving at Wellington Quay about 20 to 30 minutes later than scheduled and being taken out of service, pending a rostered change of drivers.
Because of the delay the new driver was instructed to take the bus out to Lucan, before returning with fare paying passengers.
But before the bus left, another west-bound bus, the scheduled Maynooth number 66 service, arrived at Wellington Quay and pulled up in front.
Such congestion at the quays was not unusual since the 66 route had been relocated there from middle Abbey Street which was closed due to Luas works.
Bus company sources indicated however that while congestion was not unusual, it was hard to understand why the out-of-service bus passed on the inside of the Maynooth bus.
Sources said a new driver would normally make "cockpit changes" such as altering the seating position or the angles of the mirrors.
It would not be normal to have the bus moving while these changes were underway.
A company source indicated that drivers normally applied the brakes until these changes were undertaken.
Officially, Dublin Bus said its committee of inquiry would meet on Friday and promised to have its report within six weeks.