Two people have died and two others have been taken to hospital with injuries following reports of a crush at a St Patrick’s Day event in Northern Ireland, according to emergency services.
One person is in hospital in critical condition, while another is in a stable condition, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed on Monday, March 18, following the event at Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown.
“While the exact cause of the incident is still unknown, there are reports of a crush at the scene. At this stage, the cause of the incident is unknown.
“However, police have commenced a full investigation into the circumstances,” PSNI’s assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton, said.
Ambulance services scrambled to the scene after reports of several people feeling unwell, with doctors, paramedics and five emergency crews dispatched at around 21:30 p.m. local time.
Over an hour later, at 22:41 local time, emergency services urged parents to come to the hotel immediately to pick up their children.
“There seems to have been a stampede, and a number of people have been badly injured,” Wilson added.
But the DJ who was performing at the disco at the hotel reportedly told journalist Brendan Marshall, who made his way to the scene, that the reports were false, according to the BBC.
Marshall explained he had heard that several young people fell seriously ill at the event.
“He confirmed that—contrary to the rumours that had been circulating—there had been no crushing and nothing had collapsed.
“He told me that a number of young people had become seriously ill. He said one young person was brought to him by a friend to have their pulse checked.
“The DJ then shone a light in their eyes to check whether they were alive,” Marshall told BBC News NI.
DUP leader Arlene Foster has said her “thoughts and prayers” are with all those affected by the incident.
The injured have been taken to Craigavon Area Hospital and Antrim Area Hospital, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said.
