A MAN died yesterday after he was electrocuted while trimming hedges close to overhead power cables in Co Clare.
The single man, named locally as Christopher Lysaght (27), Finniterstown near Adare in Co Limerick, was pronounced dead at the scene at Clonmoney West near Shannon.
He had been working for a company contracted by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) to undertake work on private property in the area.
The ESB closely monitors any threat to overhead cables from trees and hedges and calls in contractors to undertake work where necessary.
Mr Lysaght, who was wearing all his safety harnesses, was working on top of a “large thick hedge” when the equipment he was using came in contact with a 20,000 volt overhead cable.
The man is understood to have died instantly.
The area was sealed off and examined by Garda technical experts and inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority during the afternoon. The ESB was also contacted and also sent officials to the scene.
Mr Lysaght’s body was later removed to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where a post-mortem examination is scheduled to be held early today.
Three separate investigations have now been launched into the tragedy. Gardaí, the HSA and the ESB will hold their own inquiries into the accident.