Get you up to speed: Maldives investigates cave diving deaths of six individuals from Italy
Six people have died during a cave dive in the Devana Kandu cave system, including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal. The group, which was on a research trip, encountered difficulties while diving to depths of 160 ft on Thursday.
Five Italian researchers, including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, died during a dive in the 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ of the Devana Kandu cave system last week. An investigation is currently underway to establish the cause of death, with the Italian tour operator denying any knowledge of the group’s deep dive that exceeded local limits, according to its lawyer.
An investigation is underway to establish the cause of death following the tragic incident during a dive in the Devana Kandu cave system, which resulted in six fatalities, including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal. The Italian tour operator associated with the diving trip has denied authorising or being aware of the group’s attempt to dive beyond local limits.
Maldives diving instructor ‘intentionally swam away’ from cave where six died | News World
In total six people have died during the dive, including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone (left) and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal (right)
A Maldives cave diving instructor may have ‘intentionally swam away’ from a tourist group where six people have died as they entered ‘pitch black cave’.
Five Italians on a research trip were killed during a dive into the 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ in the Devana Kandu cave system last week.
The bodies of ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri were discovered yesterday.
They were accompanied by diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was found last week.
Two bodies of those found yesterday have now been brought to the surface, with the other two expected to be recovered tomorrow in a ‘technically complex operation’.
In total six people have been killed as part of the cave dive, with Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee dying from decompression illness on Saturday during a recovery mission.
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Federico Gualtieri, a marine biologist, died during the cave dive on Thursday.
Researcher Muriel Oddenino had been on an official scientific mission with Ms Montefalcone prior to the dive (Picture: Facebook)
The group was on a research trip about soft corals on Thursday morning when the group is believed to have died around 160 ft deep.
They had launched the expedition from the Duke of York yacht, which did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100 ft.
Monica’s husband and dad of Giorgia Carlo Sommacal told Italian media his wife ‘was one of the best divers in the world’ and would never put his daughter at risk.
He said she had carried out about 5,000 dives and was ‘never reckless’.
Monica Montefalcone was in the Maldives on a research trip, but undertook the tour privately.
Monica Montefalcone’s daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, died alongside her mother on the expedition
Gianluca Benedetti’s body was the first to be recovered last week
Shafraz Naeem, a Maldivian diving veteran who has explored the Devana Kandu cave system over 30 times, said he believes ‘rules were broken’ during the dive.
He said light only reaches the first chamber and is pitch black beyond it, adding he believes the instructor ‘intentionally swam away’.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘It is incredibly dangerous to conduct dives at these depths on compressed air.
‘Maybe he legged it up before he ran out of air. The rest of the group died in that third chamber and Benedetti died in the passageway trying to get out.’
Gianluca’s body was the first to be recovered from near the mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave on Thursday.
Meanwhile the other bodies lie much deeper in the cave system.
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.
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