Farmer in his 70s dies following quad bike crash

Investigation begins after body of man found on land near Enfield on Thursday night

An investigation is under way after a man in his 70s was killed in a quad bike crash on a farm in Co Meath.

The body of the man was discovered on the farm at Balinderry, near Enfield, on Thursday night.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) confirmed an investigation was underway and said it had an inspector on the site.

A postmortem was due to take place on Friday.

READ MORE

Quad bikes are commonly used by farmers to carry out routine tasks such as herding cattle.

There have been four deaths in the agriculture sector so far this year, according to the HSA.

The agency says accidents involving farmers over the age of 55 often account for 55 per cent of farm deaths.

In total, there have been 12 workplace-related fatalities in 2016. Agriculture and construction accounted for the highest numbers of workplace deaths last year.

Of the 56 people killed at work, 18 were killed in farming activities, five people died in the fishing sector and there were 11 deaths in the construction sector.