Get you up to speed: Inside the Maldives ‘shark cave’ where 6 people lost their lives | News World
Five Italian divers died during a research trip in the submerged cave system of Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, after they entered a 160 ft deep cave. Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee also died from decompression illness during recovery operations, marking the incident as the largest diving accident in the country’s history.
The Maldives police and military, supported by Finnish divers, conducted a recovery operation that began on May 17, just three days after the accident on May 14. Investigation status remains ongoing, with authorities analysing GoPro footage recovered from the scene to understand the events leading to the accident.
Local authorities have described the incident as the largest diving accident in the Maldives’ history, while the Italian tour operator has denied any prior knowledge of the group’s deep dive that exceeded legal limits. Ongoing investigations aim to clarify the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, with authorities expected to review diving regulations and safety protocols in response to the event.
What remains unclear — Investigators have yet to determine how the divers were able to exceed the legal depth limit for commercial and recreational diving.
Six fatalities confirmed in Maldives diving accident at submerged cave
The Maldives cave claimed six lives (Picture: via REUTERS)
Five Italian divers died on a research trip in the Maldives last week, after they entered a 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ in a submerged cave system in the Vaavu Atoll.
The bodies of ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri have all been retrieved after extensive search efforts.
Their diving instructor, Gianluca Benedetti’s body was found last week.
Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee also sadly died on Saturday from decompression illness during a recovery mission.
Local authorities are calling it the biggest diving accident in the country’s history.
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The footage, which dates back to 2014, shows the reality of the depths. It includes the cave being entirely pitch black and requiring the use of torches, and the small crevices that the divers had to navigate through.
The divers were rescued by a specialist team from Finland (Picture: REUTERS)
‘It is difficult because it is located deep,’ he said.
‘And this cave is accessible only for technical cave divers who have the appropriate preparation, the appropriate experience and who are planning correctly to dive this cave.’
Apparently, the name of the cave is ‘Dhevana Kandu.’ Though not officially, its name was deliberately changed by those specialist divers to prevent untrained or recreational divers from attempting to enter the hazardous cavern.
Vladimir continued: ‘There shouldn’t be any unprepared divers, and we even changed the name in order to save the inexperienced divers from the temptation to come in and take a look.’
Local authorities say the dive appears to have exceeded the legal depth limit for commercial and recreational diving.
A spokesperson for the Italian tour operator said the divers’ equipment appeared to be standard recreational gear, and not appropriate for deep dives.
Local authorities are calling it the biggest diving accident in the country’s history (Picture: EPA)
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.
On May 17 — three days after the tragic accident — three Finnish specialist divers arrived at the scene. They managed to locate the bodies of the remaining four Italians on May 18 in the deepest section of the caves.
Following the rescue, three expert divers who recovered the bodies handed over GoPro cameras which were found with the group.
While the footage has not yet been made public, it is hoped they could piece together the group’s final moments as investigators scramble to figure out what happened to the group after they dived deep below the recommended depth.
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