Searching for sunken gold

The Laurentic sank after hitting a mine

Beneath the tranquil waters of Donegal's Inishowen peninsula a potential gold mine may exist.

The White Star liner SS Laurentic, built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast in 1908, sank 40 metres north of Lough Swilly nine years later.

Now, a diver in Londonderry has discovered the safe of the ocean liner.

A salvage operation to lift the safe is planned in the coming weeks.

The liner had been on its way to America to collect weapons for the war effort when it hit a mine.

The vessel was carrying gold worth £300m at today's prices, however, most of that was recovered by the Royal Navy over the years.

Don McGlinchey: "This was a gold bullion ship"

But local divers now believe they may have made a significant discovery at the weekend.

On Monday, Don McGlinchey of City of Derry Sub-aqua said: "This was a gold bullion ship. It's reckoned there are 23 maybe 25 bars of gold still missing.

"Although it may not be in the safe there is £2m in silver coins that hasn't been talked about before.

"We hope it might be there," he said.

For 30 years, divers have been attempting to retrieve a lost fortune.

A special salvage operation is being organised to bring the safe to the surface but at this stage there are serious doubts as to whether any hidden treasure will emerge.

For the moment, those involved in that operation are not disclosing the exact location of the wreck.