Police in Scotland have named a 45-year-old Irishwoman and her two daughters who died in a road crash there on Wednesday morning.
Ann Copeland and her daughters Niamh (10) and Ciara (7), of Johnshaven, Kincardineshire, died when their Citroen Saxo hit another car on the A92 Stonehaven to Montrose road in Aberdeenshire.
It is understood that Mrs Copeland had been living with her husband and children in Scotland for some time. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said its consulate in Edinburgh was aware of the incident, but that it had not been approached for assistance.
A 60-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman who were travelling in the other car, a Citroen Berlingo, were taken to hospital in Dundee, where their injuries are not thought to be serious.
Grampian police said yesterday they were investigating whether the crash could have been caused by a spillage. Sgt Norman Stewart said: "As is normal following these types of tragic events we are looking at various lines of inquiry, part of which includes the condition of the road surface at the time of the crash. Early indications from the collision investigation team suggest that something had been spilled on to the road before the collision."
Tributes were paid to Ms Copeland and her daughters. Cecilia McCluskey, headmistress of St Margaret's primary school, which the girls attended, said they were "well known and well loved and will be sadly missed by all of the pupils and staff in our small school." She added that the school chaplain had led prayers at a special assembly yesterday morning.
Ms Copeland was a keen athlete and a member of the local Fleet Feet Triathletes club. Club secretary Kevin Adam said she was a "quiet woman who was a very keen triathlete and will be sorely missed."