Two investigations were under way last night into the cause of an explosion at a Limerick factory yesterday which killed one worker and injured two others, writes Kathryn Hayes.
Health and Safety Authority officers and gardaí launched inquiries into the early-morning blast at the US-owned Vistakon plant on the outskirts of Limerick city.
One worker, a married man in his 40s, died, and two others suffered minor injuries when a gas cylinder exploded in a newly- built unit at the plant shortly after 8 a.m. .The dead man was named locally last night as Eric Connellan, a father of three, from Ennis, Co Clare.
Vistakon makes disposable contact lenses.
It is understood that the new wing where the blast occurred was used for making coloured lenses.
The massive explosion, which happened shortly after shift workers arrived at the plant, punctured a gaping 50ft hole in a wall at the state-of-the-art facility at Plassey Technological Park, near Castletroy.
The powerful blast was felt all around the industrial estate.
Initially it was feared that a second worker had also perished because he could not be accounted for in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.
However, it emerged that the missing employee was, in fact, on a day off.
The two people who suffered minor injuries were taken to St John's Hospital in Limerick city yesterday morning but they were discharged shortly before lunchtime.
Staff at the company, which employs 400, were stunned as details of the blast unfolded.
Many workers gathered in a huge carpark at the front of the plant to console each other while firemen continued to douse the area with water.
A spokesman for Vistakon said staff were deeply shocked by the tragedy.
"On behalf of the company I would like to extend our sincere sympathy to the family. The plant is temporarily closed as staff are deeply shocked by what happened here today," said the spokesman. It is understood that senior executives from Vistakon met members of the dead worker's family after his identity had been established.
The Vistakon facility is a division of the US giant multinational, Johnson & Johnson.
The company has been based at Plassey Technological Park since 1995.