Two Irish students killed in Algarve crash

Two young women from Cork were killed yesterday when the car they were travelling in was hit by a train in the Algarve in southern…

Two young women from Cork were killed yesterday when the car they were travelling in was hit by a train in the Algarve in southern Portugal.

They were named this morning as Ms Aisling O'Loughlin (21) from Rochestown and Ms Paula O'Neill (22) from Douglas.

The two third-year marine biology students at UUC were in Portugal on an EU student-exchange programme.

They arrived in Portugal earlier this month to take up placements on the Erasmus programme with UCC's partner institution in Portugal, the University of the Algarve.

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Their teacher, a German man (48), died on the way to hospital after the accident near Faro. Two other people, understood to be Portuguese, are in a critical condition in hospital.

A minute's silence was held at conferring ceremonies in University College Cork this morning.