Victim of building collapse to be buried today

The funeral will take place in Cork today of the young woman killed by falling masonry from a collapsing building in the city…

The funeral will take place in Cork today of the young woman killed by falling masonry from a collapsing building in the city last week.

Ms Aoife Bell (21), from Kerry Pike in Cork, was killed as she was walking along Washington Street shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday evening last, when a building collapsed, crushing her beneath falling masonry. Ms Bell had been in Australia for some months and had returned to Cork for Christmas and the millennium celebrations.

Her sister Eilis was also injured in the accident but was later released from hospital. A number of other people are still in hospital following the collapse of the building, but it is understood that their condition is not serious.

Adjoining buildings in Washington Street, including nearby nightclubs, were forced to close down for safety reasons on New Year's Eve because of fears of further collapses.

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Demolition crews removed sections of nearby buildings in an effort to ensure that no further subsidence took place, and the street was cordoned off for most of the weekend.

Mr Darnell Lordan (21) died while working on a construction site near Bandon, Co Cork, last Friday. He was killed when sections of concrete fell on him. His body was taken to the Cork City Morgue and a post-mortem examination was carried out on Saturday.

The Health and Safety Authority is conducting separate inquiries into the Washington Street and Bandon accidents. It is understood that the results of the HSA inquiries will not be available for some weeks.