DONEGAL COAST, UK (30 July 2007) -- The body of a diver missing off the Donegal coast since Sunday afternoon was found yesterday during an intensive search that involved fishing boats, divers, helicopters and other rescue vessels. Authorities have not yet revealed the identity of the missing diver, though he was said to be a police officer in his 50's based in England. The alarm was raised at approximately 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, when one of seven British divers failed to resurface after exploring a shipwreck about 60 miles below the surface of the ocean and about 16 miles north and west of Tory Island. Hugh Fearon, station officer at the Coast Guard co-ordination centre at Malin Head, said four of the divers who were part of the dive on Sunday located the body of their colleague on Monday. The body of the missing diver was located at the wreck of the Divionan, a passenger liner that was torpedoed during World War II. Until the diver's body was found at about 3 p.m. on Monday the Coast Guard still had maximum resources in the area for the search, said Ian Scott, station officer at the Coast Guard co-ordination centre. Among those involved in the search were the Coast Guard rescue helicopter, based in Sligo, and the Arranmore and Lough Swilly RNLI lifeboats, with Coast Guard personnel from Mulroy Bay and Bunbeg also providing on-shore support.Search and rescue teams were out until dark on Sunday night and resumed at 6 a.m. on Monday. The Coast Guard helicopter was also called to a Spanish fishing vessel off the Mayo coast on Sunday to evacuate an fisherman who was suffering from a severe asthma attack, and a Scottish helicopter joined in the search for the diver when the Coast Guard helicopter was called away. | | The 25-acre Gilboa Quarry scuba diving park is a business owned and operated by local resident Mike Williams. "It was 14 miles north-west of Tory so it's quite a distance out," said Nora Flanagan, press officer for the Arranmore lifeboat and its crew of six people. The Arranmore lifeboat was on standby Monday afternoon to transport the diver's body to shore. The searchers were covering an area of 90 nautical miles on Monday, but weather conditions were better than they had been on Sunday, when there were force 5-6 winds. There are more than 250 shipwrecks off the Donegal coast, often proving popular with divers. Barry Stevenson of Lough Swilly RNLI praised local crew members for their dedication and endurance. "The boat did not return to base until 11.30 p.m. Sunday night, but many of the crew were back on board and ready to go when it left again at 6 the next morning." SOURCE - Derry TodaySCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
