Diver loses life after freak wave strikes

A father-of-three is the latest diver to lose his life after getting into difficulty off the coast of Donegal.

Rev Dr Stewart Jones, 57, of Donemana Presbyterian Church near Strabane, Co Tyrone, died at Sligo General Hospital on Saturday night after he was airlifted.

A 24-year-old man from Derry who got into difficulties with him was also taken to hospital, but he was later released.

Gardaí and emergency rescue services said the two men, who were friends, were diving near St John’s Point lighthouse when they got into difficulty.

They were on their second dive when they reached surface and they were suddenly hit by a freak wave.

Emergency services said there was no problem with the breathing equipment, but it is believed the way the wave struck Rev Jones caused a serious problem.

He was assisted to shore by the 24-year-old diver and the Coast Guard Service from Killybegs and Bundoran lifeboat were alerted and raced to the scene.

As CPR was being administered on shore the Coast Guard helicopter 118 from Strandhill, Co Sligo, was also sent to the scene.

The alert was raised at 4.30pm on Saturday. Within six minutes the crew of the Bundoran Lifeboat were on their way across Donegal Bay to St John’s Point which they reached at 4.50pm.

An alert was also passed to other boats in the vicinity.

Killybegs Coast Guard and another vessel, Red Manta, were already at the scene when the Bundoran crew arrived.

Bundoran lifeboat, with the crew continuing to apply CPR, then transferred the victim to the nearby White Strand area where the man was transferred to an ambulance and driven a half-mile to the helicopter and airlifted to Sligo General Hospital.

Rev Jones was a qualified diving instructor who loved investigating the sea waters off Donegal. He was 10 years in Donemana where the community was stunned when they heard of the tragedy.

Presbyterian clerk of session at Donemana Tommy Allan said: “Rev Jones was much-loved in the neighbourhood. We’re still trying to understand what happened.”

Earlier this month two divers died while exploring the wreck of a World War II German U-boat. The two men, one of whom is British and the other who is understood to have been born in England but who had been living in Australia, got into serious difficulty on a dive to the wreckage of the U260 submarine located more than two miles off High Island near Glandore and Union Hall.

In June, gardaí and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board launched separate investigations after two fatal diving accidents off Cork and Donegal.

John McNally, 45, from Bruff, Co Limerick, died after an incident during a recreational dive off Roches Point in Co Cork on Saturday evening. The second victim, a 42-year-old Polish national, died after an incident during a technical dive off Malin Head.