They are believed to have died while exploring a cave around 160ft underwater in Vaavu Atoll, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry
The remains of four Italian divers who vanished during a scuba-diving incident in the Maldives have been discovered.
Giorgia Sommacal, Monica Montefalcone, Gianluca Benedetti, Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri are thought to have perished while investigating a cave approximately 160ft beneath the surface in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, as stated by Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The permitted recreational diving depth in the Maldives stands at 98ft.
Recovery operations recommenced on Monday having been halted following the tragic death of a local military diver, Mohamed Mahudhee, during a perilous mission attempting to locate them.
The tragedy is understood to be the most devastating single diving catastrophe in the Indian Ocean nation’s history. Four of the Italian divers belonged to a University of Genoa expedition, comprising ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter and two research colleagues.
Mr Benedetti’s body, a boat operations manager and diving instructor, was discovered earlier beyond the cave entrance, reports the Mirror.
Three Finnish divers touched down in the Maldives on Sunday to devise a fresh approach for retrieving the bodies of the remaining four divers, who were thought to be trapped within the cave network. Italy’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that all four bodies had subsequently been located.
Maldives presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef stated the search had been paused after Mr Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defence Force, succumbed to decompression sickness following his transfer to a hospital in the capital on Saturday.
Mr Shareef revealed that the Finnish divers, experts in deep-water and cave exploration, had teamed up with the Maldives coastguard to devise a fresh search strategy. Challenging weather conditions had consistently disrupted rescue attempts.
Previous search parties had successfully located and flagged the cave system entrance where the Italians vanished. The circumstances surrounding their deaths are still being examined.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his sympathies: “These days of grief for Italy are compounded by the news that one of your brave soldiers… died while attempting to dive to reach the bodies of our fellow Italians.
“This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims,” he added.
Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login