Get you up to speed: Maldives government recovers bodies of five Italian divers after tragedy
The bodies of five Italians who went missing during an underwater caving trip in Vaavu Atoll have been located. The victims included Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, and her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal.
Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, expressed condolences to the family of Mohamed Mahudhee, a local military diver who died due to underwater decompression sickness while searching for the missing divers. An investigation is underway to establish the cause of death after the Italian tour operator denied any knowledge of the group’s deep dive, which exceeded local limits.
An investigation is underway to establish the cause of death for the five Italian divers who perished during the cave diving excursion in Vaavu Atoll. Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, has expressed condolences and stated that everything possible would be done to repatriate the bodies of the victims.
Bodies of four missing Maldives divers found in ‘shark cave’ | News World
The bodies of four divers who went missing during an underwater caving trip have been found.
Five Italians died exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said.
The victims were identified last week and included a mother and daughter.
Only one of the bodies was initially recovered before the search was suspended after a local military diver, Mohamed Mahudhee, died searching for the remaining four and rough weather impacted rescue efforts.
However, the search resumed on Monday and all five bodies have been located, the Maldives government said.
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The victims were Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
Monica Montefalcone was in the Maldives on a research trip, but undertook the tour privately.
Monica Montefalcone’s daughter, Giorgia Sommaca, died alongside her mother on the expedition
Mr Benedetti was the first to be recovered from near the mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave on Thursday. The cave is known as Shark Cave.
Authorities believe the other four entered the cave before they lost their lives.
The diving limit in the Maldives is 30m. However, the group is understood to have died at a depth of around 50m below the surface.
The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or knowing about the group’s deep dive, which exceeded local limits, its lawyer told Italian local publication Corriere della Sera.
An investigation is underway to establish the cause of death.
Federico Gualtieri, a marine biologist, died during the cave dive on Thursday.
Divers prepare to search for the missing five (Picture: Maldives President’s Media Div)
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, offered his condolences to Mr Mahudhee’s family and said everything possible would be done to bring the bodies of the victims home.
Mr Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defence Force, was recovered from the water and transferred to a hospital in the country’s capital, Malé.
However, he died of underwater decompression sickness on Saturday. He was buried with military honours in a funeral which took place that evening, attended by the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu.
Gianluca Benedetti’s body was the first to be recovered last week
Researcher Muriel Oddenino had been on an official scientific mission with Ms Montefalcone prior to the dive (Picture: Facebook)
In a statement on Friday, the University of Genoa said Ms Montefalcone and Ms Oddenino had travelled to the Maldives on an official research trip to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity.
The scuba diving trip was not a part of the trip and was ‘undertaken privately’, the statement added.
Two other victims were not part of the official mission.
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