11/04/2002

Search suspended after divers suffer injuries

The search of a sunken fishing boat for the bodies of three generations of the Greene family lost off the County Down coast has been suspended after a police diver was taken to hospital suffering from the bends.

The diver was treated in a decompression chamber at hospital in Craigavon, County Armagh but has subsequently been released and is doing well a police source has reported.

The head of the Police Service Underwater Search Unit, Sergeant Elvin Leech, volunteered to go into the chamber with his colleague.

The injured officer was taken to hospital suffering from pains in his arms late on Wednesday night after diving on the wreck in more than 140 feet of water seven miles away from Kilkeel port.

Another member of the team was injured earlier in the search, suffering from a ruptured eardrum.

The Tullaghmurray Lass went down off the coast of County Down on Valentine’s Day and the wreckage was only discovered two weeks ago after a lengthy search.

Police divers who have been down to the wreck are certain at least some members of the Greene family, father, son and grandson, are still in the prawn vessel.

In the last few days various parts of the wreck have been brought to the surface as the divers work their way towards where they hope to find bodies. (AMcE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

09 April 2002
Police divers search wreckage for missing bodies
Divers will carry out further remote camera searches of the wreck of the sunken Tullaghmurry Lass to try to ascertain if bodies are inside. Divers believe the remains of some of the three members of the Greene family, who went missing on the boat on 14 February, may be inside.
03 April 2002
Weather again hampers search for Greene family
The search for three generations of a County Down family missing at sea has been hampered again by the weather. Despite valiant efforts to locate them, police divers have found no trace of Michael Greene, his son and eight-year-old grandson, also called Michael since they left Kilkeel fishing harbour on February 14.
25 March 2002
Underwater search and recovery operation postponed
Poor weather has again hampered the underwater search for the bodies of three missing members of the Greene family. Police divers who were searching for the bodies of Michael Green, his son and his grandson postponed their search on Monday because of bad weather conditions.
24 January 2006
Divers resume search for missing fisherman
Divers have today resumed their search for the body of the missing Ardglass fisherman Connor Bogues. Yesterday, poor weather conditions halted the search for the 26-year-old, who has been missing since the fishing trawler he was working on, sank close to Ardglass Harbour last Thursday.
26 March 2002
Divers search wreckage of Tullaghmurray Lass
Police divers have begun the process of sifting through the wreckage of the Tullaghmurray Lass, which was discovered on the sea floor seven miles off the County Down coast last Thursday.