Emergency services are at the scene of the crash in County Tyrone
Three people have been killed and four injured in a crash on the A5 Tullyvar Road in County Tyrone.
It is understood those who died were members of the same family from Strabane.
Six ambulances and other emergency services were called to the crash near Aughnacloy at about 07:19 BST.
Two of the injured people have been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and the other two to Craigavon Area Hospital.
The road, which was closed in both directions, has now reopened.
At least one lorry and a minibus were involved in the collision. The dead and injured were all travelling in the minibus.
The lorry driver sustained minor injuries.
Image source, BBC
Parish priest Father Cathal Deveney heard about the crash on Thursday morning
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan told BBC News NI the Strabane community is heartbroken.
The family are “very well known” in the area, Mr McCrossan said, and the accident has shaken “the very foundations of this entire community”.
“Many hearts are broken by news of these losses. There are no words for this sort of accident,” he added.
Aghaloo and Carnteel parish priest Father Cathal Deveney heard about the crash on Thursday morning.
“It doesn’t even bear thinking about, the shock of it – everyone’s taken aback,” he said.
“Every time there is an accident there is always concern.”
At the scene
BBC News NI south west reporter Julian Fowler
The scene of the accident is at a corner close to the entrance of Aughnacloy Golf Club.
News of the crash has shocked people in the local community and it is believed it involved a group of seven people who were travelling together in one vehicle.
The accident took place on the busy A5 road linking Dublin and the north west.
A long-proposed upgrade to the road has been delayed.
