The body of the mine-worker killed in an underground rockfall on Thursday will be repatriated to his native Philippines this week.
A recovery operation which lasted more than two days was finally completed at 11.30pm last night when rescue workers and emergency services brought the remains of Mario Francis (49) to the surface at Lisheen Mine in Co Tipperary.
Mr Francis, who worked at the lead and zinc mine for over 12 years and lived in nearby Urlingford in Co Kilkenny, died when rocks fell on the loader vehicle he was driving in a section of tunnel on Thursday afternoon. He was found by co-workers at about 4.45pm and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene a short time later. However, because of the unstable state of the tunnel in which the accident occurred, attempts to remove his body and bring it to the surface had to be abandoned at about midnight that night.
Work to make the area safe continued throughout Friday and yesterday and management at Lisheen Mine, located near the village of Moyne and close to Thurles in Co Tipperary, confirmed his body had been brought to the surface at 11.30pm. The deceased was brought by garda escort to Limerick Regional Hospital last night, and a post-mortem examination took place today.
Mr Francis’s remains were expected to be released to his wife My-Ann later yesterday and will be brought back to the Philippines, where the couple are from, for burial.
In a statement, Lisheen Mine general manager Joe Elmes expressed sympathy to Mr Francis's wife My-Ann, their sons Jomar (9) and Jolrem (5,) and his children from a previous marriage in the Philippines, Julemar (22) and Mario Jnr (15).
“Despite the shock and sadness we all still feel at the death of our colleague Mario, we are comforted that his remains are now back in the care of his family,” Mr Elmes said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Mario was a well-liked employee and we will dearly miss him.”
He thanked the emergency services and mine rescue team and all colleagues who “worked tirelessly” to recover Mario’s remains to ensure his body could be safely recovered as quickly as possible.
Family members, friends and co-workers gathered on Friday evening for a memorial service in tribute to Mario Francis while SIPTU members also sent a message of sympathy and support. "Mario's death has left his work colleagues in shock and underlines the dangerous nature of work underground," union organiser John Regan said.
“Mario and his family came from the Philippines to make a new life in Ireland. In these tragic circumstances Mario’s family will be offered all the support possible by his SIPTU colleagues and the wider trade union community.”