A MAN IN his 70s has died following a farm accident in county Tyrone last night.
It is understood he was killed after falling into a piece of cattle feeding equipment on his farm at Killybracken Road in Dungannon.
The PSNI confirmed that an investigation into a fatal incident has been launched. Both police and fire service personnel are involved in the inquiry.
The Health and Safety Executive has also been notified and will carry out its own investigation in due course.
Ulster Farmers Union president Harry Sinclair told BBC News that it was “another tragedy for the industry”.
According to Sinclair, there has been an average of about one death per month in the past two years, a number he described as “tragic”.
Earlier this week, the group launched a targeted campaign of farm safety visits as part of a series of initiatives to address the increase in farm fatalities. The scheme is due to begin next month.
In the past five years, 41 people have been killed in Northern Ireland as a result of agricultural activities. Many more have been seriously injured.
Last month, Ulster rugby star Nevin Spence was killed, along with his older brother Graham and father Noel, when he entered a slurry pit on the family farm.
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