Two men die in separate workplace incidents

Two men died today in separate workplace incidents in Counties Wexford and Roscommon.

In Wexford, a man was killed after being buried under grain at a storage unit near Cooladine, Enniscorthy.

The deceased, who was aged in his 50s, appears to have been attempting to remove a plank of wood that was blocking a chute when he became caught under a flow of grain.

He was trapped for about 20 minutes before being freed, but he had suffocated.

Gardaí attended the premises after the incident, which occurred at 8.45am.

The scene was sealed off and a technical examination was carried out.

Also this morning, a steelworks employee was killed when a pile of material he had been stacking collapsed on top of him.

The emergency services responded to the scene in Co Roscommon and the man was airlifted by helicopter to Galway University Hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The incident occurred at a steelworks plant in Clover Hill, Ballaghaderreen, just before 10am.

While investigations are now under way into exactly how the incident occurred, it is believed the man was stacking bales of steel when they collapsed on top of him.

The deceased was aged in his 50s and was from the locality.

Gardaí, ambulance and fire crews responded immediately once the alarm was raised by staff at the plant.

The scene was preserved to facilitate the investigation.

As is standard procedure in such cases, the Health and Safety Authority is conducting a full review of circumstances surrounding the incidents.