Two Irish students have been injured in a coach crash in Spain which killed 13 women.
“We can confirm that two Irish people received non-life threatening injuries in this morning’s bus crash in Tarragona, Spain,” a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said, adding: “We stand ready to provide consular assistance.”
The bus, carrying 57 passengers, was returning from Spain’s largest fireworks festival when it crashed on a highway, killing 13 and injuring around 34.
One of the injured Irish people is understood to be a student at University College Cork.
In a statement on its Facebook page the university said the student is believed to have suffered an arm injury, adding: “The University wishes to express its condolences to the families, friends and wider university communities of the students who died in this tragic accident.”
The students, all female, were from various countries taking part in an Erasmus exchange programme at university in Barcelona.
A British student on the bus described trying to crawl out of the vehicle after waking up and seeing people lying on the floor.
Tallulah Lyons, a second year student at the University of Southampton, was one of a reported 34 people injured when the bus, carrying 57 passengers, crashed on a highway on Sunday on their way back from the renowned Fallas fireworks festival in Valencia.
The coach hit the barriers of the AP7 highway near Freginals, halfway between Valencia and Barcelona.
Seven of those killed in the crash were from Italy, Catalonian Interior department director Jordi Jane told reporters.
The rest of the victims, all aged between 19 and 25 years old, were made up of two Germans, one Austrian, one French woman, a Romanian and a woman from Uzbekistan, the official said.
Ms Lyons, who is in Spain for a semester of her English degree, told the BBC: “I just remember waking up and people were on the floor.
“I was trying to crawl out with friends – and that’s when we realised some people were trapped. It took about two hours to get everyone out.”
Ms Lyons is reported to have suffered broken bones in the accident.
A University of Southampton spokeswoman said: “We are very pleased to hear that Tallulah is safe and recovering. We have made contact with her to extend our full range of support services.”
The British Foreign Office said: “Consular staff have been deployed to visit a British national who was injured following the coach crash in Tarragona, and we remain in contact with the local authorities over the situation.”
