A 11-year-old girl has been killed and her eight-year-old brother seriously injured in a collision outside Ballinasloe in Co Galway.

It is understood the siblings were cycling a short distance from their home when they were stuck by a car.

The incident happened just before noon, around 4km outside Ballinasloe on the road to Ahascragh.

Both children were taken to the Portiuncula Hospital where the girl was later pronounced dead.

Her brother is in a serious condition.

A section of the R358 in Shanboley was closed for a technical examination.

Gardaí have appealed to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact Ballinasloe Garda Station.

The crash happened a few kilometres from the scene of another collision in which two women were killed last year.