Family demands answers over death of diver at off shore wind farm

The family of a commercial diver from Bebington who died on a dive at an off shore wind farm in Germany are demanding answers.

They're unhappy with the explanations they've been given so far. Stephen O'Malley was 48 and died in Bokum three years ago.

Stephen's brother Andrew Santos wants more details.

An inquest heard Stephen complained the diving ring - worn around his neck to stop water getting in - was too tight.

A doctor was flown out to the vessel after about an hour of resuscitation attempts and pronounced him dead.

The inquest heard authorities in Denmark - where his employer SubC Partner was based - found his death was the result of an undiagnosed heart condition.

But coroner Andre Rebello described that as “fanciful in the extreme”.

He added: “I think the over-tight neck dam ring was probably the trigger for all of this.”

The court heard the rescue was delayed because the standby driver couldn't locate a clip on the back of his harness to hoist him from the water.

As a result a report questioned:“Should such a check be part of the pre-dive protocol checks?”

The report will be issued to the Danish and UK arms of the company, as well as the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport.