Gardaí investigating death of man (71) who fell from a roof

Man fell 8m while carrying out house maintenance work in west Cork on Wednesday

Gardaí have begun an investigation into the death of an elderly man in a fall from a rooftop while carrying out house maintenance work in west Cork on Wednesday afternoon.

The accident happened sometime after 2.30pm when a 71-year-old man fell off the roof of a two-storey detached house that he was cleaning with a power washer near the centre of Enniskeane village.

The man, who is from the area but has not been named until all next of kin are notified, suffered serious head and neck injuries when he fell over 8m onto a gravel driveway into the property.

The emergency services were alerted and a team of paramedics were quickly on the scene but they were unable to resuscitate the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor.

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Gardaí were also in attendance and the man’s body has since been removed for a post-mortem examination at Cork University Hospital tomorrow to establish the exact cause of death.

Gardaí have described the man’s death as “a tragic accident” and said they will now prepare a file on the matter for an inquest at the west Cork Coroner’s Court later this year.

Barry Roche

Barry Roche

Barry Roche is Southern Correspondent of The Irish Times