Emotional tributes have been pouring in for Morgan Barnard, Connor Currie and Lauren Bullock, crushed in a stampede at a hotel in Northern Ireland.
The three teenagers tragically killed in a human crush at a St Patrick’s Day party have been pictured for the first time as friends and family released emotional tributes.
Morgan Barnard, 17, and Connor Currie, 16, died along with Lauren Bullock, also 17, outside a hotel in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland last night.
The teenagers were fatally injured when a huge group of young people got caught in a stampede outside the front of the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown, which was hosting a St Patrick’s Day event.
A 16-year-old girl is also believed to be in a stable condition in hospital, while a further two teenagers were treated for injuries they suffered during the incident.
It is believed that panic broke out as several hundred people were reportedly trying to get into the venue in large swathes, with people falling to the floor.
Buses dropped off groups of teenagers shortly before 9.30pm, when the crush happened, witnesses said.
Tonight, a relative of Morgan described him as a ‘gentleman’ and a ‘joy’, who was also a keen football player.
He added: ‘He was just a bundle of joy, always bouncing around, he seemed to have a lot of energy in him – a gentleman, he was.
‘I am gutted. I just could not take it in, I tried to sleep and I could not sleep.’
Connor, who was a Gaelic footballer and played for Edendork St Malachy’s GAA, was described as a ‘much loved’ teenager.
The football club said in a Facebook tribute: ‘As a club and community, we are deeply saddened and devastated to hear of the tragic passing of our much loved and highly thought of player and member Connor Currie.
‘Connor will forever be remembered with the greatest affection by all associated with our club and indeed the wider Edendork community.’
Lauren was described as the ‘backbone’ of her cheerleading team, Euphoria Allstar Cheeleading NI, who said that the squad would ‘never be the same’ without her.
The club said it was ‘heartbroken’ over the death of Lauren and described her as a ‘beautiful soul’.
She was a student at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon and Principal Catherine McHugh today described her as ‘a beautiful girl, a shining light in our school community’.
The headteacher said: ‘She gave generously of her time and talents. She was a leader among her peers and a quiet strong and loyal presence.
‘A treasured friend and capable young lady with a bright future.
‘She was a role model for positivity, good relationships and kindness. We have lost someone very dear to us and we will miss her greatly.
‘Our thoughts are with her parents, her family and her friends in the coming days as they try to come to terms with their immeasurable loss.
‘As a school community we are here to offer support.’
Witnesses described how they saw their friends fall to the floor while the big group of attendees was ‘pushing’ to get near the front of the hotel.
An attendee, Eimear Tallon, said on Facebook how people were ‘literally fighting for their lives’ while others laughed pushing, not realising the severity of the situation.
She described how she fell to the floor, on top of other people, and couldn’t get back up before other bodies fell on her.
Eimear wrote: ‘At this point I thought my friends were going to die, I was standing up and I couldn’t breathe so I couldn’t imagine how they felt.
‘I was hysterically screaming for people to move but it was only the people around me who knew the seriousness.’
She added that people were ‘scratching, biting and grabbing anything they could to pull themselves up to breathe’ in what she said was the ‘most traumatic, frightening and stressful moment of my life’.
Luckily someone pulled her out of the crowd and she made it to safety.
Shortly after the incident, police posted a message on Twitter urging parents to pick up their children from the hotel.
Police said officers are still trying to piece together what the circumstances were to cause the night to end in a ‘terrible tragedy’.
The PSNI’s investigation continues.
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