The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been located, officials confirmed. The divers were found within a 60-metre-deep cave in Vaavu Atoll by a collaborative team of Finnish and Maldivian rescue divers.
A fifth Italian diver, a member of the group, had been recovered soon after Thursday's accident. Tragically, a Maldivian rescue diver died while searching for the group, marking the event as one of the worst diving accidents in the Indian Ocean nation, known for its stunning coral islands.
Further dives will be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies, stated Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a spokesperson from the Maldivian government. The recovery is expected to take additional time as the bodies have been located deep within the cave, distant from the entrance.
Details of the tragic event reveal that two of the divers, Professor Monica Montefalcone and research fellow Muriel Oddenino from the University of Genoa, were conducting research on climate change's impact on biodiversity. Giorgia Sommacal, Professor Montefalcone's daughter, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent graduate, were also part of the group. The fifth victim, Gianluca Benedetti, was the diving instructor who initially went missing.
The group entered the water that Thursday morning but failed to resurface as expected, prompting an emergency response amid harsh weather conditions. Although they had permissions for their research dives, the cave dive was not included in their proposal. This incident underscores the necessity for enhanced safety protocols for deep-sea diving.
