An Irish cancer victim was locked in the luggage hold for a 25 minute journey of an inter-city bus after she became trapped as she tried to unload her suitcase.

Ireland’s national carrier Bus Eireann has launched an investigation after the woman’s traumatic experience on a journey to her Clare home from hospital in Galway.

The middle-aged woman has asked not to be identified according to a report in the Irish Independent newspaper.

She was returning home after chemotherapy at the Galway hospital when the incident returned.

The woman had alighted from the bus in her hometown of Ballyvaughan and has trouble retrieving her case from the luggage department.

The paper says the small bag is understood to have become hidden behind larger luggage so the woman climbed in to try to retrieve it.

It is believed she may have fainted before the bus departed. No visual inspection of the baggage area was carried out before the doors were closed by the driver.

The bus then made its way to Doolin, 15 miles away, where the woman was discovered.

The report says the woman did not want to make an issue of the incident and has not lodged a complaint on the matter.

A family friend told the paper: “It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe something like this could happen.

“She doesn’t want to make a big deal about it and I don’t know if it’s because she’s embarrassed or just isn’t bothered by it, but I know she was very frightened by the whole thing.

“When she got out of the bus in Doolin she didn’t know where she was. She had words with the driver and someone arranged to drive her to Lisdoonvarna and she was taken home from there.
“I can’t even imagine what would have happened if the bus had gone the Corkscrew Hill route to Doolin. She would have been thrown all over the place and would definitely have been hurt.”

A company spokeswoman said: “Bus Eireann takes complaints very seriously. This matter is being investigated and you will appreciate no further comment can be given pending the outcome of the investigation.”