An interim report into a fatal explosion at an ESB power station in Kerry last month has found that the work carried out by three men prior to the accident was in compliance with normal practices.
The men had been working in the switchgear room of Tarbert ESB plant when the explosion occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. Two of the men were fatally injured. Mr Patrick McCrohan, an electrician (38), of Doon, Tralee, died on Friday, July 4th, and electrical instrumentation supervisor Mr Michael Healy (49), died one week later, on Thursday, July 10th, in the burns unit of Cork University Hospital.
The third man, Mr Dermot Thornton, was also seriously burned but is making a good recovery. The ESB said yesterday that all of the operations by the staff involved on July 3rd were "in compliance with normal practices in power generation".
The report said that the accident occurred when a 6.6kV circuit-breaker feeding a motor in the power station was closed and there was an explosion in the switchgear room.
While the findings will be welcomed by the family and collegues of the victims, the cause of the explosion has yet to be verified. Investigations are continuing but the ESB has admitted that "because of the extensive damage in the switchgear cubicle, it has proved difficult at this time to pinpoint the cause of the accident".
"We can't pre-empt the results of the final report, but every possible effort is being made to ascertain the cause of the accident," an ESB spokesman said.
The report also found that emergency procedures were operated properly on the day of the explosion and Tarbert staff and emergency services were commended for their response.
Staff in all of the ESB power stations have been briefed on the progress of the internal enquiry.
A separate Health and Safety Authority investigation is also under way.