Police in Northern Ireland are investigating how a queue for a St Patrick’s Day disco turned into a crush that killed three teenagers.
Hundreds of people were waiting to enter the Greenvale hotel in Cookstown, County Tyrone, in cold, wet conditions on Sunday night when pandemonium broke out. A 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy died and three other teenagers were treated for injuries.
One of the teenagers was named as Lauren Bullock, 17, a year 13 pupil at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon. The principal, Catherine McHugh, described her as “a beautiful girl, a shining light in our school community”.
Paying tribute, the Euphoria Allstar cheerleading team said Lauren was the “backbone” of the group. In a post on Facebook the team said: “Euphoria are absolutely devastated to say we lost one of our senior athletes, Lauren Bullock, in the tragedy in Cookstown last night. My heart is broken writing this. You were the most down to earth, beautiful soul.”
The other two teenagers were named as Connor Currie, 16, and Morgan Barnard, 17, both pupils at St Patrick’s Academy, also in Dungannon. The school held an emotional prayer service on Monday afternoon for teachers and classmates of the boys.
Police said preliminary investigations appeared to show there was a crush towards the front door of the hotel, and some people seemed to have fallen.
Detectives have launched an investigation, with potentially hundreds of people, many of them teenagers, having witnessed the incident. The assistant chief constable Alan Todd appealed for them to come forward.
“I can understand that there may be some reluctance to contact police if you are underage, but please do not be concerned. We are investigating the deaths of three young people, young people just like you. That is our focus. We want to be able to give their families answers and your recollection of the events as they unfolded is crucial.”
Police tweeted an appeal for images or footage of the event to be sent to a private link.
Nigel Ruddell, the medical director of Northern Ireland’s ambulance service, told the BBC that emergency crews who responded to a 999 call shortly before 9.30pm encountered upsetting scenes.
“At this stage everything points toward it being a tragic accident and our hearts absolutely go out to the families of those involved and everybody who was caught up in this incident last night,” he said.
A youth resource centre in Cookstown opened a facility on Monday to offer “support and a listening ear” to those in need.
The Greenvale hotel is a popular venue for discos and can host about 500 people. Local media quoted witnesses who said several coaches of young people had arrived around the same time, creating a surge of people while the gates remained locked.
“We were all outside waiting for the gate to open and get in,” one unnamed teenager told the Ulster Herald. “Then everyone just started swaying back and forth and pushing from side to side. Suddenly there was a rush forward and the whole queue collapsed and everyone fell to the ground.”
He said he was pinned beneath a pile of people and unable to move for about 20 minutes. “It was absolutely terrible. I didn’t know what was going to happen or how I’d get out.”
Politicians called the incident heartbreaking. Some urged people to not post any footage on social media.
Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist party, said her thoughts and prayers were with all those affected.
Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin leader, also offered her condolences. “I cannot fathom the horror that the parents of these children are going through this morning. What should have been a night of fun and celebration for young people has turned into a night of tragedy.”
Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, also offered condolences and thanked the emergency services.