Diver dies in Antrim accident

A diver, thought to be in his early 30s and from Dublin, has died from decompression sickness after a dive off the coast of Co Antrim.

A diver died today after surfacing too quickly off the coast of Co Antrim.

A second person involved in the dive near Rathlin island was airlifted to hospital for treatment in a decompression chamber.

The men were were part of an eight strong group from Portmarnock Diving Club in Dublin, which had travelled to explore the wreck of the the Santa Maria steam tanker.

The Belfast Coastguard was alerted at 6am that two of the divers had got into difficulties.

It brought the two men to the harbour at Ballycastle, Co Antrim but one was pronounced dead.

The second diver was taken to Craigavon Area Hospital in a British royal navy rescue helicopter for treatment in a decompression chamber. He is said to be in a stable condition.

Divers who resurface too quickly run the risk of the potentially fatal condition known as the bends. It is caused by nitrogen bubbles in the tissues and blood, which form when a person moves rapidly from high to low pressures.

The Santa Maria wreck is located half a mile off Fair Head in Co Antrim.

The steam tanker was torpedoed in 1918 by a German U-boat. Its cargo of 2 million tons of fuel oil was lost but all the crew were saved.

It is broken into two sections, with one part of the ship on a ledge 30 metres underwater and the other at the bottom of the cliff 60 metres underwater.

The Irish Wrecks Online website contained a warning about the wreck.

“This is a very dangerous dive. Several divers have been bent on this wreck,” it said.