Maldives Dive Tragedy: Four Italian Divers' Bodies Discovered in Vaavu Atoll Cave
The bodies of four Italian divers, who disappeared during a scuba incident in the Maldives last week, have been located. Officials confirmed the remains were found inside a 60-metre-deep (197ft) cave in Vaavu Atoll, identified by a joint team of Finnish and Maldivian divers.
One body, belonging to a fifth member of the group, had been recovered previously after the incident on Thursday. This brings the confirmed deaths to five Italian nationals, four of whom were part of a University of Genoa research team: Professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and researchers Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri. The fifth victim was Gianluca Benedetti, a boat operations manager and diving instructor.
A Maldivian rescue diver, Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee, also died on Saturday while participating in the search effort for the missing group. Authorities stated that further dives are necessary to recover all the bodies from the cave's third section, the furthest from its entrance.
The group entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning and were reported missing after failing to resurface. Police noted rough weather conditions in the area, approximately 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Malé. A yellow warning for passenger boats and fishermen had been in effect.
While the group had permission for a research mission on coral, including deep dives, their proposal reportedly made no mention of diving into the cave. Recreational scuba divers are typically restricted to depths of 30 metres. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, which is considered the worst single diving incident in the Indian Ocean nation.
