Slurry deaths probed

THE Health and Safety Executive and police in Northern Ireland have launched investigations of how two men died while operating a slurry system in Co Down.

James Wilson (21), of Cloughmills, and James (Kenny) Blair (32), of Rasharkin, were working on a farm near Katesbridge when a slurry container exploded, engulfing them in 150,000 gallons of waste.

The 22-metre flexible storage bag was believed to be the first of its type in Northern Ireland. It is thought the men were standing beside the container, into which slurry was pumped from a tanker.