A construction worker was fighting for his life in hospital last night after falling 10 metres into an empty water tank in Co Down.

The accident happened at the Ashley Park water pumping station in Bangor at about 8.30am yesterday.

The 47-year-old is a sub-contractor for Graham Construction, which had been employed by Northern Ireland Water to carry out building work at the site.

A specialist rope rescue team from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service had to be called in to pull the man to safety. It took the crews about 90 minutes to rescue him.

He was then rushed the Royal Victoria Hospital where a spokesman described his condition last night as “critically ill”. The Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland said it had launched an investigation into the incident.

A spokeswoman from Graham Construction said the company would be working with all relevant authorities to determine what caused the accident as well as carrying out its own investigation.

“We are co-operating with the relevant authorities as they, and we, investigate the cause of this accident,” she said.

“Our thoughts are with the injured man and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery.”

In a statement NI Water said that while the incident occurred at one of its sites, the health and safety of workers was the responsibility of Graham Construction.

“Although this is a NI Water site, the day to day management of Health & Safety is the responsibility of the contractor,” the statement said.

“NI Water will assist the Health and Safety Executive in their inquiries and will also carry out an independent investigation into the incident.

“NI Water would like to express our deepest concern for the individual involved and wish him a speedy recovery.”

A PSNI spokesman confirmed they had attended the incident.