Three people have been taken to hospital following a multi-vehicle collision in Clare this afternoon.
The collision happened at around 1.30pm on the R473 Ennis to Kildysart road about two kilometres from Ballyea.
One car is understood to have collided with a parked trailer before smashing head-on into an oncoming car.
Two female passengers had to be cut from the wreckage of one of the vehicles while the male driver managed to escape from the vehicle.
The driver and passenger in the second car, both men, were not trapped or seriously hurt.
Two units Ennis of the fire brigade from Ennis along with four ambulances from Ennis, Kilrush and Limerick responded to the incident. Several garda units were also dispatched to the scene and the road was quickly closed with diversion being put in place.
Fire crews used specialist cutting equipment to remove the roof and doors from one car so that the trapped women could be safely released.
They were taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The driver of the second car was also taken to hospital for treatment and was not seriously injured.
Gardaí are investigating whether the tractor and trailer were parked on or off the road at the time. It’s also understood that the sun may have impaired one of the drivers’ vision before the collision.
Gardaí from Ennis are investigating the cause of the collision.