Railroad worker dies after struck by tree while clearing line

A MAN in his 40s, believed to have been the father of three children, died yesterday afternoon when a tree fell on him while he was working on a railway line close to Longford Station.

The 48-year-old Iarnród Éireann employee was involved in routine tree-felling on the Sligo to Dublin line when the incident happened just after midday.

There were some temporary disruptions to Dublin to Sligo services following the incident but all trains were running as scheduled by late afternoon. A spokesman for the company said this was the first fatal incident involving a member of the line maintenance division.

The man, who has not been named, was working with a team on high ground near the railway track as part of an operation to clear the line for improvement works when one of the trees, which were said to have been quite large, fell on him.

The emergency services were called but he died at the scene as a result of the injuries he had sustained.