Two Northern Ireland men killed in work incident in Perth

Two men from Northern Ireland have been killed in a workplace accident in Perth, Western Australia.

They have been named locally as Joseph McDermott from Omagh, Co Tyrone, and Gerry Bradley from Portstewart in Co Derry. Both were aged in their 20s.

Local media reported that the men were crushed under at least one concrete panel which fell from a truck as it was being unloaded at a construction site in East Perth at 11.30am local time (3.30am Irish time).

The site near the junction of Bennett and Goderich Streets was evacuated and the street was closed to allow emergency services access to the scene.

Jaxon Construction, which was carrying out the work on the apartment complex, issued a statement offering “heartfelt thoughts and condolences” to the families, loved ones and colleagues of the men.

“We are co-operating fully with the relevant authorities and will make further announcements as additional information becomes available,” the company said. “Site works have been halted until further notice and the site is now in the hands of relevant authorities.”

The construction company said it has been in operation since 1958 and has never experienced a fatality among its workers.

Mr Bradley’s brother Gregory paid tribute to his dead sibling. He said: “He would be one of the few people I don’t know anyone who had a bad word to say about. We can’t believe what has happened.”