Man airlifted from Cork’s Lusitania wreck site after getting into difficulty

A man was airlifted from the site of the wreck of the RMS Lusitania in Cork at the weekend after getting into difficulty whilst participating in a dive.

Courtmacsherry RNLI’s lifeboat, the Val Adnams was called out just after 11am on Saturday morning, when the Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre in Valentia activated the bleepers to respond to the incident 12 miles south of the Seven Heads in West Cork.

Crew members were informed that a diver had gotten into difficulty while participating in a dive, in the deep waters on the wreck of the Lusitania.

The lifeboat under coxswain Ken Cashman and a crew of five assembled immediately and after being briefed on the incident, made their way to the causality.

Also tasked was the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 115 helicopter from Shannon.

“As the diver required immediate care, it was decided to airlift him from the water by the helicopter and transfer him as quickly as possible to the specialised treatment centre in Galway,” Courtmacsherry RNLI said in a post on Facebook.

Joining coxswain Ken Cashman on Saturday’s callout were crew members Dave Philips, Mark John Gannon, Simon Locke, Taylor Murphy and Ian McCarthy.

Many of the crew and operations officers, Courtmacsherry RNLI said, were at the annual fundraising coffee morning in the garden of The Lifeboat Inn in Courtmacsherry village when the bleepers were activated.

Courtmacsherry lifeboat station launch authority Vincent O'Donovan praised the quick response of all crew members, commenting that it was an “eventful morning on sea and land”.

He expressed his thanks to the station’s lifeboat fundraising committee, to the proprietors of The Lifeboat Inn and to the large crowd that attended, who helped make the fundraiser “such a great success”.