Sligo hospital staff who looked after casualties of a fire on a Canadian submarine in which one crewman died off the northwest coast have been formally thanked by the Canadian government.
Canadian High Commission officials based in London yesterday visited Sligo General Hospital to present it with the submarine's crest.
Naval attache Capt Norm Jolin and Defence Forces representative Lt Col Stephen Moffatt said they were acknowledging the tremendous work of the hospital staff who treated victims of the accident. They said the presentation of the crest, mounted on a wood and brass plaque, was made on the orders of the commander of the Canadian navy, Vice-Admiral Bruce MacLean.
Capt Jolin said: "We were sincerely and deeply touched by the warmth of the care in Sligo. Everybody was magnificent, from the hospital receptionists to the security people and the medics. We just had to come to look them straight in the eye and say thank you so much."
Two fires broke out onboard the submarine, the Chicoutimi, in October last year. One spread through the captain's cabin and along an electrical panel beneath it. A smaller blaze started 15.24m (50ft) away in the weapon stowage compartment six hours later when two oxygen generators were activated to improve the air supply.
Three men were airlifted 170km (106 miles) to Sligo but one, Lt Chris Saunders, died on the way. The other two, Master Seaman Archibald MacMaster and Petty Officer Denis Lafleur, recovered in hospital and later gave evidence along with the 54 other survivors to an inquiry into the disaster.
Three sister submarines were put out of commission for three weeks until it was established they did not face the risk of similar fires.