Gardai hope security videos will give clues to bus crash

Dublin Bus and the Garda are hoping video footage from security cameras on business premises, including the Clarence Hotel, may provide vital clues to the cause of last Saturday's fatal bus accident at Wellington Quay.

The search for video footage came as Dublin Bus yesterday announced the establishment of an inquiry into the tragedy in which five people were killed.

The inquiry, which will be chaired by Mr Arnold O'Byrne, chairman of the Dublin Bus audit review group, will report in six weeks' time. It will meet for the first time on Friday.

The committee will seek to establish the cause of the accident and any contributory factors and make recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy.

The crash is to be raised in the Dáil today, with the Labour Party seeking to table a special notice question on the issue.

The bodies of the five people killed in the accident are to be released to their families today.

The accident happened after an out-of-service bus, which was leaving Wellington Quay for Lucan, passed a stationary Maynooth bound bus on the inside, mounting a kerb and colliding with a group of passengers queuing to board the Maynooth bus.

Eight of the injured were still in hospital last night. Gardaí and Dublin Bus investigators are waiting to interview the drivers of both vehicles. They received trauma counselling yesterday and were said to be having difficulty recollecting clearly what had happened.

While there were eye-witness accounts of the accident, gardaí confirmed that they were hoping security camera footage might provide vital details of what happened in the seconds leading up to the collision.

Gardaí plan to study footage from the Clarence Hotel and other businesses. Dublin City Council said its cameras were not trained on that part of the quay at the time.

The board of Dublin Bus held an emergency meeting at its O'Connell Street headquarters yesterday, and the company opened a special book of condolences. It was signed by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan.

Mr Ahern said he met the chairman of CIÉ, Dr John Lynch, and some of the families and friends of the deceased and injured.

Responding to questions as to the cause of the accident, Mr Brennan said it was unlikely to be clear cut. It was always tempting to look for a simple solution "and I don't believe there is one here", he said. Both buses involved in the accident have been impounded by the gardaí for examination. Dublin Bus said it did not expect the vehicles to be found to be defective. Dr Lynch said last night that the drivers were "not in a position to talk yet".

He added that both drivers were qualified and experienced and the driver of the out-of-service bus had more than 20 years' service. This driver had also been successful at an examination as an advanced driver, Dr Lynch said.