The male Irish diver was in a team diving the wreck of the liner Lusitania, 12 miles off Ireland’s Old Head of Kinsale.
According to Valentia Coastguard, he was close to the wreck at a depth of around 90m when a heat-pad worn under his drysuit ruptured.
Despite being burned by the chemical released from the pad, the diver made what was reported to be a controlled ascent, avoiding decompression illness.
He was airlifted by rescue helicopter to Cork airport, then by ambulance to Cork University Hospital, where he was described as “stable and comfortable” after receiving treatment to burns covering a reported 30 per cent of his body.
The heat pads work by creating a chemical reaction between metal, sodium acetate and water. They are used by some divers on deep, long dives in cold water.
The team of which the diver was a member was diving the wreck legitimately, under licence from Ireland’s Department of the Environment. Privately owned, the Lusitania has been protected under Irish heritage law since 1995.
The liner was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1915 while on passage from New York to Liverpool, going down with the loss of some 1200 passengers. The sinking was a major factor in the decision of the USA to enter World War One.
Down the years, controversy has surrounded the issue of what munitions the liner might have been carrying for the war effort. It has been established that the ship was carrying a cargo of small arms ammunition – but questions remain over whether a cargo of heavy explosives was also carried.
After being hit, the ship suffered a large, secondary explosion and went under within 18 minutes of first being struck. Debate has surrounded whether the second blast was caused by onboard munitions, exploding boilers or a second torpedo hit.
Since 2005 the wreck’s owner, American Greg Bemis, has sanctioned diving expeditions in an attempt to learn more. He suspects that heavy ordnance was carried.
Related links
Ordnance found aboard Lusitania
Green light for Lusitania owner
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