Seven male teenagers have been taken to hospital following a crash in Co Mayo this morning.
All of the teenagers, who had been returning home from a night out in Westport, were taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, following the crash at Church Road, Foxford, shortly before 5am.
One of the youths was discharged from hospital this evening while the six others remain in a stable condition, a spokesperson for the HSE West said.
The Opel Astra car in which the youths were travelling hit a wall and then a pole. There was no other vehicle involved.
The N26 Ballina to Swinford road remains closed as gardaí carry out a technical examination of the scene.
Commenting on the latest crash involving teenagers, Mayo TD John O’Mahony said the news that the injuries were not more serious had come as a relief to their families and the entire community.
Deputy O’Mahony said the message about the dangers of drink driving seemed to be hitting home for teenagers but unfortunately a new trend seemed to be developing that young people were overloading vehicles, creating fresh dangers.
“This is something that needs to be addressed,” he added.
Swinford based Garda Superintendent Ronan Galligan issued an appeal for any witnesses to the crash to contact gardaí at (094) 9252990.