Five Italian tourists were exploring caves in the Maldives at a depth of 50 meters
Five tourists, including a mum and her daughter, have died during an underwater diving trip in the Maldives.
The holidaymakers were exploring Vaavu Atoll 160ft underwater on Thursday, May 15, when tragedy struck. Police have since launched a probe into the incident. The cause of their deaths is unknown at this stage.
The five deceased divers have been identified as university professor Monica Montefalcone and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal, Muriel Oddenino of Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua and Federico Gualtieri of Borgomanero, according to reports. All five of the victims are Italian.
Italy’s foreign ministry said: “Following an accident during a scuba dive, five Italians died in the Vaavu atoll, in the Maldives.”
It added that the five people died “while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters”.
Local authorities rushed to the scene after being alerted to group’s disappearance at about 1.45pm local time. An urgent search operation was launched before their bodies were found.
It is understood that the divers boarded the foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, the Duke of York yacht, before disappearing near Alimatha, one of the Atoll’s most popular diving spots.
The area faced strong winds of up to 30mph and a yellow warning had been issued earlier in the day.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said they have been contacting the victims’ families.
Local Italian media has citied diving experts that the sudden deaths could have been caused by oxygen toxicity. This can cause tissue damage and affect the central nervous system. It is caused by breathing oxygen at high pressure for an extended period.
The company operating the Duke of York yacht provides nitrox, according to its website, a breathing mixture for scuba divers made from nitrogen and oxygen.
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