A small rural community in Co Limerick was plunged into grief last night when two men were electrocuted while erecting temporary lighting for mourners attending the wake of a 21-year-old local man. Kathryn Hayes reports.
Two other men and a 16-year-old boy were injured in the accident at Boolaglass, near Askeaton, shortly after 5 p.m.
The two victims were erecting flood-lighting beside the home of Billy Sheehan who was killed in a car crash on Friday night. The son of Mr Willie Sheehan, proprietor of the Arena Supermarket in Askeaton, Billy Sheehan died when his car collided with a wall on the N69 road on Friday night.
Due to the large number of mourners at the family home, temporary lighting was being installed in a nearby field which was being used as a car park. The accident happened when a tower light came in contact with an overhead power cable.
The two men were pronounced dead at Limerick Regional Hospital. The other men suffered burns. The 16-year-old was moved to the special burns unit in Cork University Hospital last night.
The names of the dead men were not released last night but they are aged in their mid 30s and early 40s. One was married with a family and both were from the Co Limerick area. The dead and the injured were friends of the Sheehan family and one of the deceased and two of the injured were related.
"The accident on Friday night was bad enough because everyone would know the Sheehan family but for this to happen on the evening of the wake is beyond comprehension," said one local.
The Health and Safety Authority was informed and are liaising with investigating gardaí.