Authorities in Ireland have confirmed that four of five people killed in a two-vehicle traffic accident Feb. 18 were from Latvia.

Ivars Lasis, first secretary in the Latvian embassy in Dublin, told Radio Telefís Éireann that Latvian police have notified next of kin of the deaths. The victims include a 38-year-old woman, her 20-year-old daughter and a 23-year-old man, all from Liepāja. Also killed was a woman in her late twenties from Valka.

The fifth fatality was a 35-year-old man from Lithuania.

A sixth person, another man believed to be from Lithuania, was still being treated in Letterkenny General Hospital, RTÉ reported.

The four Latvians were traveling in a Volkswagen Vento when it collided with an Audi, occupied by the two Lithuanians, about 4:20 a.m. near Buncrana in the northwest of Ireland, according to the Sunday Independent. One of the vehicles caught fire after the accident, Highland Radio reported from Letterkenny.

The Latvians apparently were traveling in the direction of Buncrana after picking up the daughter from an airport. The accident occurred near Lisfannon, three miles south of Buncrana, where several fatal crashes have been reported in recent years.

The Audi had earlier been observed traveling erratically and had already been involved in a collision, the Telegraph reported, citing Irish police.

The County Donegal region is home to many Latvians and Lithuanians who have come to Ireland in search of work.

In June 2004, three men from Latvia died when their car was involved in an apparent one-vehicle accident, smashing into a bridge in County Donegal, near the border with Northern Ireland.

If he had been just a half-minute faster, Ilmārs Bricis might have won a bronze medal. Instead, the Latvian biathlon star had to settle for fourth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit event Feb. 18 during the Winter Olympics in Turin.

Bricis finished the course in 26.7 seconds behind behind gold medal winner Vincent Defrasne of France, whose time was 35 minutes, 20.2 seconds, according to the official Web site of the Winter Olympics, www.torino2006.org.

The silver medal went to Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway and the bronze to Sven Fischer of Germany.

Latvia’s Jānis Bērziņš finished 44th in the event, 5:02.6 behind the leader, while Raivis Zīmelis finished 48th, 5:37.8 behind the leader, and Kristaps Lībietis finished 56th, 8:31.0 behind.

In 2002 during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Bricis finished a disappointing 51st in the pursuit event.

Also on Feb. 18, Latvian biathlete Madara Līduma finished 20th in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit event. Her time was 4 minutes, 7.2 seconds behind gold medal winner Kati Wilhelm of Germany, who finished the course in 36:43.6. The silver medal went to Martina Glagow of Germany and Russia’s Albina Akhatova earned the bronze.

Anžela Brice of Latvia was lapped and knocked from the competition.

Latvia’s Martins Dukurs has placed seventh overall in the men’s skeleton event Feb. 17 during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Dukurs’ total time over two runs was 1 minute, 57.39 seconds. After his first run, he was in 10th place, according to the official Web site of the Winter Olympics, www.torino2006.org.

The gold medal in the event went to Duff Gibson of Canada, whose combined time was 1:55.88, a track record. The silver medal went to Jeff Pain of Canada, while Gregor Staehli of Switzerland took the bronze.

Dukurs, 21, was the only Latvian participating in the event.