One person has been killed, another is critically injured and three fire fighters who attended the scene were hospitalised following a workplace accident in Portmarnock, Co Dublin this evening. The fire-fighters, from Dublin Fire Brigade were taken to hospital as a precaution and have since been discharged.
It is believed a drain-clearing crew from the drainage and cleaning company DrainTech, was working at the Drumnigh Wood housing estate in Portmarnock when the accident happened. The men were carrying out regular maintenance work on the sewer system at the time of the incident. They were working 20ft below ground when they got into difficulty.
A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said one man got into difficulty and fell into the sewer pit, and when one of the man’s colleagues attempted to assist him, he, too, got into difficulty. The two men were rescued from the pit, treated on scene and brought to Beaumont Hospital, where one man remains in a critical condition.
Photo: Courtesy Declan Keogh
Initial reports suggested the incident led to a double fatality, however, the Health and Safety Authority ater confirmed that one man had died.
Dublin Fire Brigade was alerted to the accident at 2.30pm. Three fire appliances, three ambulances and an advanced paramedic unit responded to the scene. Two inspectors from the HSA were also sent to the scene and an investigation has been begun into the circumstances surrounding the incident by the Garda and the HSA.
