| FILE PHOTO: People in the crowd watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Galway, Ireland March 17, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne |
Three young people died on Sunday night in an incident at a St Patrick’s Day event at a hotel in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, police said after they were called to the scene amid reports of a crush outside a disco.
Three teenagers — a 17-year-old girl, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy — died, while a 16-year-old girl is in a stable condition in hospital, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement.
Another two teenagers were treated for injuries received during the incident which unfolded in the town 75 kilometres west of Belfast shortly before 2130 GMT.
“While the exact cause of the incident is still unknown, there are reports of a crush at the scene and initial enquiries indicate that a large group of young people were waiting to enter a disco,” PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said.
“We also have reports of some fighting after the incident commenced and at least one person has reported that they were assaulted.”