Two men suffered suspected titanium burns in what has been described as a mini-explosion while working on the roof of a medical devices plant in East Cork.
As the Irish Examiner reports, one of the men was in a serious condition in hospital overnight after suffering extensive burn injuries in the incident at Stryker's Anngrove plant at the IDA Business Park in Carrigtwohill on Tuesday afternoon.
His condition was described as very serious by a number of sources following the incident. The condition of the second person is understood to not be serious.
The plant was in shutdown following the incident as an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) got underway.
While the exact nature of the incident remains under investigation, it is understood it occurred while a person was working on the roof area of the plant.
Emergency services including the Cork County Fire Service, gardaí, and the National Ambulance Service responded to the scene after the incident at around 1.15pm yesterday afternoon. The HSA confirmed it has launched an investigation into the incident.
The alarm was raised just after 1pm on Tuesday when Midleton fire brigade was asked to help with “a medical emergency” at Stryker’s Anngrove plant at the IDA Business Park in Carrigtwohill.
A spokesman for the county fire service said it was reported that one person had suffered burns while working on equipment which was located on the roof and that the fire was out.
However, in a statement later, Stryker confirmed that two people had been injured in the incident which it said was managed by the company’s emergency response team with support from local emergency services.
“Two people were transferred to the hospital and all others were safely evacuated from the facility,” a spokesperson said.
“We’re committed to a safe and healthy work environment at all of our facilities. We’re working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident.”
Author: Kenneth Fox
