A couple in their late 70s from north Cork have been killed in a two-car collision on the main Cork-Limerick road, the N20 just north of Mallow town.
The couple who were from the Buttevant area were fatally injured in the incident which happened just north of the entrance to Mallow General Hospital at about 5pm.
The man, who was driving and his wife who was the front seat passenger, were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services personnel.
The driver of the other car, a woman in her late 20s was uninjured but was deeply traumatised by the collision and was treated for shock at the scene.
Gardaí have closed off the main road and diversions have been put in place south of Mallow General Hospital and at Newtwopothouse to allow a Garda forensic crash investigator examine the scene.
The bodies have been removed to Cork University Hospital where postmortems will be carried out on Wednesday.
Next of kin
Gardaí have identified the couple but say that they will not release their names until Wednesday after next of kin have been notified.
It is understood that the couple were driving south towards Mallow in their Toyota Avensis and the woman was driving north towards Buttevant in her Lexus when the collision happened.
The cars are due to be removed from the scene to a secure area to allow a Garda PSV inspector carry out a mechanical examination.
Supt Pat Lehane of Mallow Garda station appealed to anyone travelling the road who may have seen the collision to contact the station on 022-31450.
The deaths bring to nine the number of people killed in road traffic collisions on Cork routes this year and follows the death of a 73-year-old pedestrian in Bantry town on Saturday afternoon.
Anne Murphy from Seaview Terrace in Castletownbere was fatally injured when she was struck by a truck on Wolfe Tone Square in the centre of Bantry just after midday on Saturday.
