Tragedy struck the heart of Belfast city centre last night after a teenage girl lost her life in a horrific traffic accident.

Shoppers and commuters walking through the bustling Royal Avenue area watched horrified as the girl was crushed beneath the wheels of a bus carrying rush-hour passengers.

The incident happened at around 5.30pm at the busy junction of Castle Place and Royal Avenue as workers and shoppers made their way home.

It is understood the girl — believed to be aged in her mid-teens — was hit by the bus just outside the Tesco store.

Witnesses reported hearing the girl screaming for help as she lay trapped beneath the front wheels of the double-decker bus.

Firemen used inflatable airbags to lift the front of the bus to allow paramedics to treat the injured girl. Shocked bystanders watched as the girl was pulled free and taken on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. She was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment but died a short time later.

One of the passengers on the bus, Belfast woman Margaret McBride, described hearing a thud as the accident occurred.

“The driver jumped out and said he had hit something,” she said.

“We got off the bus and the girl was just lying underneath. She was squealing.

“I have never seen an accident like it in my life, it was terrible.”

Another witness, who did not wish to be named, said: “The girl just walked out. I heard a big thud and saw her legs go over her head.

“You could hear her calling for help. People went over and were holding her hand and talking to her. It was awful.

“She just stepped out. The bus wasn’t going that fast but it wasn’t able to stop that quick. The driver couldn’t have done anything about it.”

The area around Castle Place was sealed off by police as three fire engines and an ambulance attended the scene.

Local councillor and former Lord Mayor of Belfast Jim Rodgers said he would be contacting authorities today to discuss the issue of road safety in the area.

“This is a dreadful tragedy in the heart of our city and we need to make sure there are no more accidents like this,” he said.

“It is an exceptionally busy junction and we need to do more to let people know that that is not a pedestrianised area.

“There have been a number of near-accidents there because of people walking from the footway out onto the road.

“My thoughts go out to the family of the victim.”