A LOCAL MLA has offered her condolences to
the family of a man killed in a slurry tank accident last week.
43-year-old William McMillan died last
Thursday afternoon after an accident at his farm on Redhill Road between
Magheralin and Dromore. His funeral took place on Sunday.
Local Ulster Unionist MLA Jo-Anne Dobson, who
is a member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee at Stormont,
said: “I send my deepest condolences to the McMillan family and the wider
family circle.
“I was extremely saddened to hear of this
tragic accident. Incidents such as this stand as a stark reminder of just how
dangerous farming can be.”
Mr McMillan’s son Ryan had frantically
searched for his father when he returned to the farmyard after spreading slurry
in a nearby field.
A brother of the deceased, Samuel McMillan,
said the family believes William had been moving a pipe from one tank to
another when he slipped and fell.
“When Ryan returned to the yard, he couldn’t
find him anywhere and he searched for some time before he realised what had
happened,” said Samuel.
“He rang his father’s phone but the mobile
was dead.
“He (William) was very conscientious and
hard-working and would have been aware of safety. It was just a simple accident
and he was gone.
“It has happened before, it has happened to
William and it will probably happen again. I just don’t know what can be done
to stop it.”
Samuel, who immediately flew over from
England after receiving the devastating news, said the family was in a state of
shock, particularly his father, John.
“My father is taking it very hard,” he added.
“For over 40 years they were father and son on the farm, so he is in a very bad
way.
“Unfortunately, in farming, life has to go
on, animals still need to be looked after, but this will be very hard for us
all to get over.”
Since the accident the entire family,
particularly Mr McMillan’s wife Wendy, children Ryan and Lauren, parents John
and Maureen and brother Samuel, have been comforted by a strong network of
support from neighbouring farmers.
“People have been very kind, coming to offer
help,” said Samuel. “It is a very busy farm, with cattle and sheep and now it
is just Ryan who is 21 and my father John, who is in his 70s, who are left to
look after it.”
The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed
it is investigating the accident.
Mr McMillan is the fourth person to lose his
life in a farming accident in Northern Ireland this year.
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