Gardai in Westport, Co. Mayo are investigating an incident after an eight-year-old girl was fatally injured in a farm accident involving a tractor in Mayo this evening.

A Garda spokesperson said that the accident happened around 5pm this evening in Lismolin, near Castlebar.

She was brought to Mayo University Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The spokesperson said that the Health and Safety Authority has been notified.

It is the third fatal farm accident in a week, after two farmers died in separate farm accidents in Mayo and Laois.

In Mayo, Gardai are investigating after the body of the farmer was found on Mweelrea Mountain in Co.Mayo on Sunday, July 30.

A Garda spokesperson said he was pronounced dead at the scene. It is believed that the farmer was moving sheep when he fell and sustained fatal injures.

On Thursday, last week the body of a farmer in his mid-50s was discovered on his farm in Levalley, Rathdowney, Co. Laois at 7.30pm.

It is understood that the farmer sustained fatal injuries after he got trapped between a tractor and another machine on the farm.

Last year, 18 people died in farming-related accidents on Irish farms.

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.