One man in his 30s died and another was injured early today when they got into difficulty while diving off the Antrim coast.
The men were among eight divers from Portmarnock Diving Club diving at a wreck off the coast of Rathlin Island when the two went into a rapid ascent to the surface.
The group of divers were exploring the wreck of the Santa Maria, which was sunk in 1918.
Royal Navy rescue helicopters, assisted by the Portrush Lifeboat brought the two divers to shore. One of them was pronounced dead at Ballycastle Harbour.
The other man was transferred by helicopter to the decompression chamber at Craigavon Area Hospital.
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 Mariawreck 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.