Belongings of a visitor injured in last Thursday's bus crash on O'Connell Street, Dublin, were stolen within minutes of the accident, according to gardaí.
The 60-year-old woman, who suffered serious head injuries when she was struck by a Dublin bus, remained in a critical condition in St James's Hospital yesterday.
Her handbag, understood to contain her passport and more than €1,000 in cash, and a wheeled suitcase went missing after the accident.
The woman, originally from Mayo but living in Birmingham, had been travelling with a friend, Jagdish Mangat (56), who received minor injuries in the accident. She was treated overnight in the Mater hospital and returned to Birmingham after her release.
Speaking from her son's home in Birmingham yesterday, Ms Mangat said her friend had lost everything in the accident.
"Everything she had was gone in her bag . . . My friend lost everything and she's still fighting for her life," she told RTÉ's Liveline programme yesterday.
The women were on holiday in Mayo and travelled to Dublin to shop before returning to Birmingham. They were crossing O'Connell Street at the Spire to catch a bus to Dublin airport when the accident happened.
Ms Mangat said she remembered little about the accident, but had thought she and her friend were at a zebra crossing when they stepped on to the road.
"There were people in front of us who were crossing so we just followed on with them, and after that I don't remember anything else . . . We never saw the bus coming, and my friend never regained consciousness.
"She's actually on a ventilator, the life-support machine."
Ms Mangat was extremely upset that her companion's belongings had been stolen. "She's been my friend for 26 years. That somebody has taken her bag and everything, I can't believe that somebody could do that."
Gardaí believe the bags were stolen after the accident.
"Gardaí were on the scene very quickly, and the bags weren't found. What that suggests to us is that before the gardaí came to preserve the scene, they were taken," a spokesman said.
The handbag is described as a light brown, wicker-style, over-the-shoulder bag, containing a purse with cash and bank cards, a diary, keys, mobile phone and an Irish passport.
The suitcase was navy blue with wheels and an extendable handle.
Gardaí are appealing for information.
