Tributes have been paid to three teenagers who died in a crush outside a hotel in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, on St Patrick’s Day.

Lauren Bullock, 17, and Connor Currie, 16, and Morgan Barnard, 17, lost their lives after hundreds of people tried to get into the Greenvale Hotel on Sunday evening.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said people struggled to get off the ground and there was confusion in the aftermath between 9pm and 10pm.

Ms Bullock’s cheerleading team described her as a “down to earth, beautiful soul” and the “backbone” of the group.

Euphoria Allstar Cheerleading NI wrote in a Facebook post: “Euphoria are absolutely devastated to say we lost one of our senior athletes Lauren Bullock in the tragedy in Cookstown last night.

“My heart is broken writing this. You were the most down to earth, beautiful soul and our Coral team will never be the same without you.”

Football club Edendork GAC said it was “deeply saddened” and “devastated” to hear player Connor Currie had died, and added it would be holding a private prayer service.

In a statement, it said: “Connor will forever be remembered with the greatest affection by all associated with our club and indeed the wider Edendork community.

“We are all in shock at Connor’s untimely passing – to lose a dear friend and teammate is one of the most difficult life experiences you will have to face.”

The PSNI has launched a major investigation and appealed for any videos taken during the incident to be handed in rather than posted on social media.

They also called for witnesses to get in touch with detectives.

Emergency crews tried to resuscitate victims, but one died at the scene and two later in hospital.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: “It is a truly awful incident, heart-wrenching for everybody, particularly the families.

“Unfortunately three are dead – the last person died this morning with his parents near him.”

A 16-year-old girl is in a stable condition in hospital and two more teenagers were treated for injuries.

A social media user described seeing paramedics trying to resuscitate a young boy and said it was a “traumatic and stressful” experience.

Mr Hamilton said investigations so far showed there was a crush towards the front door of the hotel which caused some partygoers to fall down.

Officers are examining security camera footage to establish what happened and are currently treating it as a crush but said they are keeping an “open mind”.

The nightlife venue in Mid Ulster has a capacity of up to 500 people.

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