Surgeons were yesterday attempting to reattach a man’s arm after it was sliced off in a workplace incident in Limerick. John Dineen, a livestock road haulage contractor, was loading animal feed from a conveyor machine into a truck when the incident occurred at about 8am yesterday.
Gerry Clifford, manager of Dan O’Connor Feeds, Limerick, where the incident occurred, said everyone at the plant was shocked. “His arm got stuck in the machine. I don’t know exactly what happened because I wasn’t talking to him, but I believe he may have dropped something in the machine and instinctively went after it.”
It is believed Mr Dineen’s arm was severed from below the elbow. He was brought to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick following the incident. However, he was transferred yesterday afternoon to Cork University Hospital for emergency surgery to reconnect his arm. A Garda investigation and a Health and Safety Authority investigation are under way.