The bodies of four Italian divers who died while exploring an underwater cave in the Maldives were repatriated to Italy on Saturday, after a difficult recovery operation that also claimed the life of a Maldivian military diver, authorities said. The coffins arrived at Milan’s Malpensa Airport and were taken to a morgue, where autopsies were scheduled to begin on Monday.
The divers went missing on May 14 while investigating a cave system in Vaavu Atoll at a depth of about 50 meters, far beyond the Maldives’ recreational diving limit of 30 meters. The body of their instructor, Gianluca Benedetti, was recovered earlier and returned home, while the remains of the other four were found last week in the innermost chamber of the cave at roughly 60 meters by three Finnish expert deep and cave divers who joined the search.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; and researcher Muriel Oddenino. Authorities said the four bodies were found together and that the diving group had a permit, though the exact cave location was not disclosed in the original proposal. Maldivian officials also said at least two of the deceased were not listed among the researchers submitted for approval.
The recovery mission was halted after Mohamed Mahudhee, a Maldivian military diver involved in the operation, died while on duty. His death prompted a separate investigation, alongside a probe into the circumstances surrounding the five Italian divers’ deaths. Maldives President’s Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said Italy agreed to share the findings of the autopsies on the repatriated bodies.
The incident has drawn attention to the dangers of deep cave diving in the Maldives, where conditions can quickly become life-threatening. Authorities continued to review both the safety and permitting details of the expedition as the bodies were returned to Italy for forensic examination.
