Ten people from two families, including a mother, father and a five-month-old baby, have been killed in a fire in Ireland.
Five children under 10 are believed to be among the dead after the blaze broke out at a halting site for travellers in Carrickmines, south Dublin at about 4am.
The families are understood to have been living at the encampment off the Glenamuck Road, just south of the M50 motorway and a few miles from Sandyford village, for about eight years.
The fire is being treated as a tragic accident, a traveller support group said.
A Garda spokesman confirmed the death toll had climbed to 10 after the baby girl, understood to have turned five months at the end of September, died in hospital.
The Southside Traveller Action Group, which knew some of those involved, offered its deepest sympathies to the relatives of the families.
A spokeswoman said staff were in a state of shock at the devastating loss of lives.
"Families gathered today at our centre in southside Dublin where we are doing everything we can to support them. We thank the gardai for their support at this time and appeal to the media to respect the privacy of the families of those who died," the group said.
The halting site was described as four bay and is understood to have contained a number of caravans.
The alarm was raised at 4.24am with six units of the Dublin Fire Brigade on the scene and a number of paramedics and ambulances.
Gardai are investigating the cause of the blaze but early indications are that it was not a criminal act and it is not being treated as suspicious.
Emergency services said two adults and two children were taken from the scene to hospital while a number of others were confirmed dead at the halting site.
It is understood the scene was difficult to examine due to the extensive damage caused by the blaze and the number of people caught up in it.
Forensic examinations were continuing late into the evening with Dr Margaret Bolster, assistant state pathologist, at the halting site leading the technical analysis.
President Michael D Higgins said he was shocked and saddened at the deaths.
"My thoughts at this time are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives and those who have been injured," he said.
"I have asked to be kept informed on this shocking event throughout the day."
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said the incident was heartbreaking for all in the traveller and wider local community, and asked for prayers to be said for the dead and injured and their families.
Alan Kelly, Environment Minister, issued a statement on behalf of the Government and said he learned of the tragedy with shock and the deepest regret.
"On behalf of the Government I want to extend our prayers and deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased and their extended community," he said.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said: "This is an extremely shocking incident and I want to express my deepest sympathy to the families affected by this tragedy."
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said it was "horrific news to wake to on a Saturday morning".
Alex White, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and TD for Dublin Rathdown, said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are currently battling with their injuries, and the families and friends of all those who died."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here