Get you up to speed: Maldives mourns death of military diver amid ongoing recovery mission
A diver on the search team died during a recovery mission for four Italian tourists who drowned while exploring underwater caves in the Maldives. Mohammed Mahdi, a sergeant major in the Maldivian military, fell ill during the operation in the Vaavu Atoll, which local reports attribute to decompression sickness.
A diver, Mohammed Mahdi, a sergeant major in the Maldivian military, reportedly died from decompression sickness on the third day of the recovery mission for four missing Italian tourists from the University of Genoa, according to local reports. The university stated that the scuba diving activity during which the fatalities occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately.”
Recovery teams are set to explore the third chamber of the cave on Saturday, following limited search efforts in the first two chambers due to oxygen and decompression considerations. Meanwhile, the Maldives tourism ministry has suspended the operating licence of the ‘Duke of York’ pending an investigation.
Diver dies in search for tourists who drowned exploring underwater caves in the Maldives | News World
Mohammed Mahdi, a sergeant major in the Maldivian military, was said to have fallen ill on the third day of the recovery mission (Pictures: AP)
A diver on the search team trying to recover the bodies of four tourists killed in a fatal trip exploring underwater caves in the Maldives has also died.
Mohammed Mahdi, a sergeant major in the Maldivian military, was said to have fallen ill on the third day of the recovery mission in the Vaavu Atoll on Saturday.
Local reports attribute the tragic death to decompression sickness.
Paying tribute to the serviceman on X, the Maldivian military said: ‘His courage, sacrifice, and service to the nation will always be remembered. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.’
The group of Italian scuba divers had been exploring underwater caves and failed to resurface on Thursday.
Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa, including respected marine biologist Monica Montefalcone, 51, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, 20, research fellow Muriel Oddenino, marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri, and boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
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In a statement posted on its website, the university said: ‘The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey.’
Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa, including respected marine biologist Monica Montefalcone
Her daughter Giorgia Sommacal also died in the tragedy
A recovery mission led by specialist divers has been ongoing to try and recover the missing bodies, which were believed to be stuck in one of the caves.
Ms Montefalcone and Ms Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said.
But the university added that the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was ‘undertaken privately’.
Ms Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica he hoped her GoPro might be able to help investigators understand how the tragedy happened.
He said his wife was an ‘expert’ diver who had undertaken 5,000 trips and ‘knows what to do even in times of difficulty’.
The same was true for Mr Benedetti, who he called ‘meticulous’ in his safety planning.
He said his wife ‘usually had a GoPro when she went diving’, adding: ‘I don’t know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.’
Divers preparing to search for the four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives (Picture: Maldives President’s Media Div)
Italian officials said around 20 other Italians who were on the same expedition aboard a vessel named the ‘Duke of York’ were safe.
Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The Maldives tourism ministry said it has suspended the operating license of the ‘Duke of York’ pending an investigation.
The Italian foreign ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages.
Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.
On Saturday, they will explore the third chamber, the ministry added.
Italian officials and the honorary consul are in contact with the victims’ families to provide assistance.
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