A spokesperson for the Labor Inspectorate said that as the inspectorate was still summing up the year, it was too early to offer any conclusions.

"We will be ready for further comment in the first days of next week," a spokesperson said.

The number of fatal accidents at work has been growing in Estonia in the past three years, and only six people were killed in accidents in 2017.

The numbers of casualties were higher in previous years, in 2016 the number of fatalities was 26 and 17 in both 2015 and 2014. 

The Labor Inspectorate's website at present offers comprehensive statistics on work related accidents until mid-November 2019. It appears from that statistics that even though the number of fatal accidents at work was bigger last year, the total number of accidents at work was smaller than in 2018.

Accidents at work registered in Estonia between the beginning of 2019 and Nov. 14 numbered 3,616, which is 30 percent less than during the same period last year. 

The most dangerous areas of activity were the manufacturing of metal products, machinery and electrical equipment, where 425 accidents were registered by mid-November. Construction was in second place with 382 cases and wholesale and retail third with 378.

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