THE north's "most dangerous road" has claimed the lives of three men in their twenties.
The men were travelling along the Omagh Road near Garvaghy, Co Tyrone, at around 1.50am yesterday when their car was in collision with a lorry.
The men have been named locally as Peter McNamee, from Sixmilecross and a parishioner in Beragh, Nathan Corrigan, from Garvaghy, a member of Errigal Ciaran parish, and Peter Finnegan, from Clogher.
Police said all three men died at the scene.
A fourth man, also in his twenties, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Mr Corrigan's father Damian Corrigan is on the executive committee of Beragh Red Knights GAA.
The club announced yesterday that all its activities, including last night's lotto, are suspended until further notice.
Breacach Handball Club announced: "In light of the recent tragedy all club activities and facilities are suspended until further notice."
Clogher Eire Ogs extended its sympathies to the Finnegan family following the death of their son Peter.
They also passed on a message from the family, thanking everyone for their good wishes.
"Patrick Sr, Catherine, Patrick, Sarah, Daly, Elizabeth and the entire Finnegan and Daly families, at the untimely and tragic death of their beloved son and brother Peter, appreciate all your kind prayers and thoughts," the message read.
"We would request that the house is private, only for family and close friends. Funeral arrangements to follow."
The Omagh Road was closed in both directions between the Curr Road and the Greenmount Road for several hours following the crash. The road re-opened yesterday afternoon.
Funeral arrangements for the men are expected to be released within days.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill described the deaths as "heartbreaking news".
"My thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and local community," she said.
SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan said the A5 is "the most dangerous road on these islands" and had claimed 15 lives in under four years between January 2015 and September 2018.
"There have been quite a few people who have been killed on that stretch of road but three deaths is horrific," he said.
Mr McCrossan said his thoughts were with the families of the three dead men and the man in hospital.
“This heartbreaking news is deeply shocking and distressing to us all," he said.
Sinn Féin councillor Glenn Campbell said it was difficult to describe the scale of the tragedy.
"It would be an awful tragedy at any time of year but especially now," he said.
"The A5 is a road which has claimed too many lives. The scale of this tragedy is just shocking for the whole community."
Alliance West Tyrone councillor Stephen Donnelly said the area had been left "devastated" by the crash.
"I want to express my condolences to the loved ones of those who died, particularly coming at this time of year," he said.
"I also wish for a swift recovery for the individual injured in this incident. The thoughts of everyone in the local area will be with him as he hopefully recovers quickly."
The A5 road is to be upgraded as part of Northern Ireland's biggest single road scheme.
A public inquiry into the upgrade, first agreed 14 years ago, is due to re-open again early next year.
