By David Raleigh
A man has been seriously injured after sustained burns to his body at a creamery in Co Tipperary, Friday night.
The man has been airlifted to Cork University Hospital.
The incident occurred around 8.30pm at the Arrabawn Co-Op in Nenagh, which is the headquarters for the Arrabawn Group, which is a leading provider of dairy produce to the Kerrygold brand, and also produces animal feeds products.
Gardai confirmed the man "was in the creamery" at the time, and that he "received burns".
The male casualty was taken by ambulance to MacDonagh Park GAA sports ground in Nenagh, where he was received by members of the Coast Guard Rescue 115 helicopter, which was dispatched from its base at Shannon, Co Clare.
The rescue chopper, which earlier had been tasked to perform an airlift form Inishmore Aran Island to University Hospital Galway, transported the seriously injured man from Nenagh to CUH around 9.10pm.
Sources said the man was in a serious condition, and was likely to be sent to the specialist burns unit in Cork for treatment.
Reliable sources said the man was "seriously injured" after he was "burnt in an accident".
A spokesperson at the Arrabawn Group plant said they had "no comment" to make.
The Arrabawn Co-Op was founded in 2001 following the merger of Nenagh Co-Op and Mid-West Farmer's Co-Op.
The group is comprised of an agri-business division, a food ingredients divisions and a dairy division.