A young man in his 20s died on a stud farm near Fethard in Co. Tipperary yesterday evening after he was involved in an accident involving machinery.

It is understood that the young man, who is from Newcastle in England, was on a teleporter when it overturned.

Another man who was on the teleporter with him when the accident happened sustained serious injuries and is being treated in hospital.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and Gardaí are investigating the incident.

Machinery has been the number one cause of farm accidents over the last 10 years, with 29% of accidents between 2006 and 2015 due to machinery.

This year so far, there has been six deaths on Irish farms – five of which were involving machinery. All of these machinery-related accidents involved farmers over the age of 60.

According to the Health and Safety Authority, the fatality rate in agriculture is far higher than any other economic sector. A large proportion of all fatal workplace accidents occur in agriculture, even though a small proportion of the workforce is employed in farming.

The level of farm accidents is not decreasing. Similar accidents occur each year, with livestock, machinery and falls from heights three of the main causes of farm deaths.