Police divers have recovered the body of a Donegal man who fell from scaffolding at a Rio Tinto wharf in Western Australia’s north-west, it has been confirmed.
Witnesses say that Sean McBride, from Burtonport, was dismantling scaffolding at the wharf on East Intercourse Island in the town of Dampier when they heard the scaffolding collapse on Saturday afternoon.
Those in the area did not see anyone fall, but when they searched for the man, they could only find a safety helmet floating in the water nearby.
Emergency services were called to the scene, as were police divers from Perth.
Dampier police have confirmed the divers retrieved the man’s body from the area.
The Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum is examining the circumstances surrounding the incident and has sent an investigator from Karratha to the site.
A spokesman would not comment further.
A Rio Tinto spokesman said the missing man, a contractor, had been working on the scaffolding when it collapsed.
“All work has ceased at East Intercourse Island and access to the site has been closed,” he said.
Mr McBride, in his late 20s, is from a well-respected family in Burtonport.
A close family friend told us: “The family are obviously devastated and details of exactly what has happened are still a bit sketchy, so everyone is pulling together.
“He’s a great young man from a very good local family.”
It’s understood consular officials are helping to keep the family up to date with the investigation.
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