A picture of the Donegal coast, where a Canadian diver went missing earlier Saturday while diving with a group roughly 22 kilometres northwest of an area called Malin Head.
Rescuers looking for a missing Canadian diver off the northwest coast of Ireland said Sunday they hoped dive teams would help locate the man after nearly two days of fruitless searching.
Helicopters, lifeboats and fishing vessels had all been deployed in an effort to find the man, who went missing earlier Saturday while diving with a group roughly 22 kilometres northwest of an area called Malin Head off the Donegal coast.
The region is a draw for its shipwrecks dating to the First and Second World Wars. Divers in the area regularly approach water depths of 60 to 70 metres, requiring a more sophisticated breathing apparatus, a station officer at the Malin Head Coast Guard said by phone. He declined to give his name, citing common practice for the agency.
The diver, who is in his 60s, was part of a group that hired a charter boat and was reported missing when he did not return to the surface. "He did a decompression stage 18 metres below the water. That's where he was last seen," the station officer said.
Global Affairs Canada said Sunday that consular officials in Ireland are in contact with local marine-rescue authorities and that case managers in Ottawa have spoken with the family in Canada.
A spokeswoman with the department said further details could not be released due to privacy concerns.
The search on Sunday involved two helicopters, lifeboats, local dive boats and fishing vessels, as well as two dive teams.
It was called off because of fading light, but expected to resume Monday with a focus on searching underwater, the station officer said.