Quinn executive Kevin Lunney was stripped down to his underwear when he was abducted and brutally beaten last month and would have died had he not been found by a passer-by crawling along a rural road in County Cavan, his brother has revealed.

Tony Lunney who is also a member of the management team at Quinn Industrial Holdings described in detail the moment he got a call to say his brother’s car was on fire as he recalled his frantic race to Kevin’s house near Kinawley.

The father-of-six had his leg broken, some of his fingernails removed, his neck cut with a Stanley knife and was then doused in bleach during the ordeal which lasted more than three hours.

“He dragged himself 100, 150 metres down to the cross roads and kind of up towards the light of the house. That’s where the lad on the tractor happened to see him just putting the hand up, he wasn’t fit to stand, and that’s what saved him. If he hadn’t have been found he definitely wouldn’t have survived," said Mr. Lunney.

Speaking to broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan on Tuesday night's RTÉ Prime Time, Mr. Lunney said his brother would have died had he not been spotted by man driving a tractor on an isolated road.

“If he hadn’t have been found, he definitely wouldn’t have survived," he said, recalling how he had received a call from a neighbour shortly after his brother’s abduction. He explained: “Tony there is something wrong down at Kevin’s, he says. The jeep is half way up the lane on fire, he says, and I can’t get through to his mobile.”

“I ran up the lane and all I could see was Kevin’s vehicle… I didn’t know… It was just a complete ball of flames. You couldn’t see anything of any resemblance of anything, it was just unbelievable the fire ball it was in. And then the fire brigade came and I went back down and said ‘is there anyone in the vehicle?’ and he confirmed there was no one in it.”

Mr. Lunney also spoke of the relief he felt when Kevin wasn’t in the car, followed by the fear he felt when he realised his brother was missing.

Chief Executive of the company Liam McCaffrey spoke of his concern for his personal safety and that of his colleagues in the wake of the attack.

“Through time we need to assess and balance the risks. We cannot continue to work here in the longer term if our lives are at stake, it’s a simple as that, we can’t do that to the family. If what has been happening to the Quinn executives here had been happening to somebody from Facebook or from Google or from Intel there would have been national outcry about it," he said.

"'There is something wrong down at Kevin's', he says. 'The jeep is halfway up the lane on fire and I can't get through to his mobile'," Tony explained.

Tony recalled the moment he saw the car on fire without knowing if his brother was in it.

"I ran up the lane and all I could see was Kevin's vehicle... I didn't know... it was just a complete ball of flames," he said. "You couldn't see anything of any resemblance. It was just unbelievable, the fireball it was in. 

"Then the fire brigade came and I went back down and said 'Is there anyone in the vehicle?' and he (a fireman) confirmed there was no one in it."

After the attack, Kevin was discovered at a crossroads by a farmer. According to his brother, if it wasn't for the farmer, he wouldn't have survived. "He dragged himself 100, 150 metres down to the crossroads and kind of up towards the light of the house," he said. 

"That's where the lad on the tractor happened to see him putting the hand up - he wasn't fit to stand. That's what saved him. If he hadn't have been found, he wouldn't have survived."