The Lusitania wreck is facing collapse. The race is on to save as many artefacts as possible

The famed wreck is in danger of collapse, so the race is on to preserve as many artefacts as possible. Neil Michael reports

The massive anchor chain links draped on the deck of the Lusitania. Picture: Stewart Andrews.

As wrecks go, the Lusitania is second only to the Titanic in terms of fame and tragedy.

Submerged some 92 metres deep around 18kms off Cork’s Kinsale coast, 1,197 of its passengers died when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in May 1915. A second explosion — the cause of which is still the ship’s most enduring mystery — helped ensure it sank to the seabed in just 18 minutes.