Deep sea diver dies while filming U-boat

Deep sea divers yesterday recovered the body of a colleague who died while filming the wreck of a German U-boat on the Atlantic sea bed.

Working at depths of 70 metres in treacherous currents off Malin Head in Co Donegal, north-west Ireland, the team had been exploring the remains of U-778.

The expedition was supported by Derry city council and intended as preparation for a scheme to raise the submarine and display it in a museum in Northern Ireland.

The dead diver was named as Michael Hanrahan, 45, a father of four from Dublin. Other members of the Dive North West team made desperate efforts to bring him up after he reportedly suffered a seizure on Tuesday. They were forced to surface when they ran out of air.

Paul Lewis, a member of the dive team, said on local radio: "Out of the blue, Mick just fell back on to the wreck and I think he had some sort of a seizure. Instantly I went to his aid, but it was of no help to him." Police divers took part in the recovery operation.

A former mayor of Derry, Shaun Gallagher, an advocate of the project who was at the scene, said everybody involved was in shock.

"The dive to the U-boat went perfectly, the conditions were perfect, the filming was perfect. Then on the way back Mick had some kind of seizure," he said. "The divers along with him tried everything they could to help him, but it was too late. He was a gentle giant and a lovely man. We're just devastated."

Raising the U-boat is intended to commemorate Derry's role in the battle of the Atlantic.

At least 116 U-boats litter the ocean floor off the northern Irish coast. Most were scuttled at the end of the war.

Derry's main port, Lisahally, was the scene on May 8 1945 of the mass surrender of the remains of the U-boat fleet. U-778, built at the end of the war, was being towed to Lisahally from Scandinavia when it sank off. It had never seen action.