This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7025213.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Team to recover U-boat diver body | Team to recover U-boat diver body |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| An operation to recover the body of a diver who died while trying to assess the chances of recovering a sunken German U-boat is to take place later. | An operation to recover the body of a diver who died while trying to assess the chances of recovering a sunken German U-boat is to take place later. |
| Michael Hanrahan, a father of four from Dublin, died during a dive at the sunken submarine, 16 miles off Malin Head on the Donegal coast, on Tuesday. | Michael Hanrahan, a father of four from Dublin, died during a dive at the sunken submarine, 16 miles off Malin Head on the Donegal coast, on Tuesday. |
| The dive team was filming the U-boat when the diver got into difficulties. | The dive team was filming the U-boat when the diver got into difficulties. |
| Other members of the team tried to help him - but they were unsuccessful. It is not clear what led to the accident. | Other members of the team tried to help him - but they were unsuccessful. It is not clear what led to the accident. |
| Later on Wednesday, a team will attempt to recover the body. | Later on Wednesday, a team will attempt to recover the body. |
| Paul Moore, from BBC Radio Ulster's Your Place and Mine, spent Tuesday with the divers at Malin Head, for a feature he was doing for the programme. | Paul Moore, from BBC Radio Ulster's Your Place and Mine, spent Tuesday with the divers at Malin Head, for a feature he was doing for the programme. |
| "It was just such a huge shock, because they were just so excited about it and they seemed to know just what they were doing," Mr Moore said. | "It was just such a huge shock, because they were just so excited about it and they seemed to know just what they were doing," Mr Moore said. |
| "It's just such a tragedy for the family." | "It's just such a tragedy for the family." |
| He was a gentle giant and a lovely man - we're just devastated Councillor Shaun Gallagher | He was a gentle giant and a lovely man - we're just devastated Councillor Shaun Gallagher |
| He said later he was looking at photographs he had taken of the divers. | He said later he was looking at photographs he had taken of the divers. |
| "I was looking at these photographs and realising that one of these divers was still there, had had this accident and was now dead," he said. | "I was looking at these photographs and realising that one of these divers was still there, had had this accident and was now dead," he said. |
| "Four hours earlier I had been talking to these guys - just four typical guys just loving what they were doing." | "Four hours earlier I had been talking to these guys - just four typical guys just loving what they were doing." |
| Derry City councillor Shaun Gallagher paid tribute to Mr Hanrahan. | Derry City councillor Shaun Gallagher paid tribute to Mr Hanrahan. |
| "He was a gentle giant and a lovely man - we're just devastated," he said. | "He was a gentle giant and a lovely man - we're just devastated," he said. |
| The man was on an exploratory dive to the U-boat wreckage | |
| It is the second fatal diving incident off the north-west coast in the last two months. | It is the second fatal diving incident off the north-west coast in the last two months. |
| At the end of July, Paul Jackson, a police officer from Humberside, had been looking at wrecks off Tory Island but failed to resurface. | At the end of July, Paul Jackson, a police officer from Humberside, had been looking at wrecks off Tory Island but failed to resurface. |
| The U-boat, which did not see any war action, sank while being towed from Scotland to Londonderry to be scrapped. | The U-boat, which did not see any war action, sank while being towed from Scotland to Londonderry to be scrapped. |
| Derry City Council plans to raise U-778 and house it in a museum. The boat is lying in about 70 metres of water. | Derry City Council plans to raise U-778 and house it in a museum. The boat is lying in about 70 metres of water. |
| It is estimated there are about 150 such boats lying off Malin Head, all vivid reminders of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. | It is estimated there are about 150 such boats lying off Malin Head, all vivid reminders of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. |
| The council said that "because of the depth of the waters involved, the procedure was expected to be highly technical". | The council said that "because of the depth of the waters involved, the procedure was expected to be highly technical". |