GARDAÍ YESTERDAY began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 65-year-old farmer when his tractor veered off the road and overturned as he was returning home in west Cork.
James Murphy from Urhan was on his way home from Allihies village at about midnight on Tuesday when the incident happened on the Mine Road.
The quiet country road runs through a gap in the mountains north of Allihies before descending down to Urhan and Mr Murphy had passed through to the Urhan side when the incident happened.
Gardaí believe he was descending an incline when the tractor veered off the road and fell more than nine feet into a boggy area where it overturned. Mr Murphy was thrown from the tractor and ended up trapped beneath the cab of the vehicle.
The tragedy was discovered at about 9.15am yesterday by a passing motorist. The emergency services were called but Mr Murphy was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination. The tractor was removed for a technical examination by a Garda PSV inspector to establish if there was any mechanical problem which might have caused it to go off the road.
Gardaí have appealed to anyone who travelled the Mine Road at about the time of the incident to contact either Castletownbere Garda station on 027-70002 or Bantry Garda station on 027-20860.
