A 30-year-old man is missing after a fire broke out in the funeral home he was working in this evening.
The man, a Lithuanian national, has not been seen since the fire started at 5.15pm at Finlay's funeral services in Ardee, county Louth.
The company makes coffins and it is believed that the missing man was in a workshop where the blaze is believed to have started.
A garda spokesman said that they believe the fire began accidently.
A garda spokesman confirmed “at the moment one male is unaccounted for.”
A search of the premises, which was extensively damaged, will take place once it is deemed safe by the fire service to do so.
Fire units from Dundalk, Drogheda and Ardee attended the blaze and brought it under control.
Finlay’s is a family run business that began in 1933 and it employs around 24 staff. It expanded from making coffins into also providing other funeral services a number of years ago.
Locals who gathered outside the premises said, “everybody here is just devastated for them. They are a lovely family.”