Investigations are ongoing into a farm fatality which took place earlier this month, according to An Garda Síochána.

The incident, which took place in Co. Wicklow, occurred on Thursday, April 11, at approximately 12:15pm where a farmer was knocked unconscious while tending to cattle.

The man was airlifted to the Mater Hospital in Dublin where he later died, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed to AgriLand.

Investigations are ongoing into the incident, the spokesperson added.

Farm fatality

The incident is the latest farm fatality to take place in the month of April.

Last week, a man in his 70s has died following an accident on his farm in Co. Waterford. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, April 17.

According to a Garda spokesperson, the man suffered fatal injuries when emptying a septic tank on the farm.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was taken to University Hospital Waterford where there was a post-mortem carried out.

The Health and Safety Authority attended the scene and was to conduct an investigation on the incident.

HSA inspections

Meanwhile, the HSA is to begin an “intensive” inspection campaign, focusing on tractors and farm machinery, starting from today, April 23.

In announcing the inspections, the HSA said that, over the last 10 years, just over half of fatal farm injuries involved vehicles and machinery.

The HSA also highlights that, in recent years, the number of fatalities in incidents involving vehicles has risen sharply, particularly where quad bikes are involved; there were four deaths involving this type of vehicle in 2017 alone.