GARDAÍ HAVE launched an investigation after two men were tragically found dead on a remote farm in north County Cork.
A manhunt is underway for a man in his 60s, believed to be driving a red Toyota Corolla van, in connection with the deaths of his brothers on a farm near Mitchelstown last night.
Gardaí are expected to launch a double murder investigation later today after two men, both brothers aged in their 60s, were found dead, with The Irish Examiner reporting they were killed with the same implement, possibly an axe.
The outlet reports that Gardaí were alerted to the incident at around 12.30am last night when a woman called police to say that her father had been killed.
Two other brothers also known to be on the farm at the time were unaccounted for.
Emergency services, including armed garda units, were immediately dispatched to the remote farm, where police treated the case as a potential 'hostage barricade suicide' incident, with a garda negotiator and on-scene commando also being dispatched to the scene.
The Irish Times reports that the body of a man in his 60s was found in the yard; he is understood to live in Tipperary but regularly returns to the family home, though he is not the registered owner of the farm.
Further searches led to the discovery of the body of another man, a second brother also aged in his 60s.
The third brother, the registered owner of the farm, could not be located, The Irish Times reported this morning, and Gardaí have launched a large-scale manhunt, releasing an urgent public announcement warning the public not to approach a red van the man is believed to be travelling in.
"Gardaí in Cork are urgently looking to trace the whereabouts of a red Toyota Corolla Van, registration 03-WW-1556," a spokesperson announced.
"Members of the public with information are asked to call 999 immediately. Do not approach this vehicle."
Checkpoints have been set up in the area as Gardaí continue to investigate all circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two brothers.
Their bodies will undergo a full post-mortem examination later today, which Gardaí say will determine the course of the investigation, however it is likely a double murder inquiry will be launched.
The incident comes months after a double murder suicide on a farm in north Cork, where a father and son shot another son in a dispute over inheritance before killing themselves.
They allowed the mother of the two sons to live, likely, police believe, to force her to live through the trauma as punishment.
Investigations continue.
See More: Cork, Farm, Manhunt, Mitchelstown, Murder
