More than 60 children were taken to hospital yesterday when the bus in which they were travelling struck a ditch outside Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
None of the children, who were aged between five and seven, was seriously injured in the accident, which happened at Lynn Cross, on the Mullingar-Tullamore road, shortly after 2 p.m.
The 52-seater bus was travelling from a local summer camp to Lough Ennel when it left the road and got stuck in a ditch, a Garda spokesman said.
The children were taken to Mullingar general hospital, where a small number was treated for "minor bruising" and shock. The bus driver was uninjured.
Gardai began an examination of the bus yesterday to determine the cause of the accident, in which no other vehicles were involved.
It is understood the children attend a number of different primary schools in the area. The Garda spokesman stressed that it was legally permissible for a 52seater coach to carry more than that number of small children.
