All Five Italian Divers’ Bodies Recovered in Maldives
Maldivian authorities completed the recovery of all five Italian divers killed in an underwater cave accident in Vaavu Atoll on Wednesday, May 20, with the last two bodies retrieved from the site of what Maldivian officials have described as the country’s deadliest-ever diving accident. The group had entered the cave on Thursday, May 15, and failed to return. Maldivian authorities launched a major rescue operation after the incident, deploying boats, aircraft and dive teams to search the area. U.S. News & World ReportCNN
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the chief spokesperson for the Maldivian government, confirmed the identities of the divers and said all bodies would be repatriated to Italy. He told Reuters: “A preliminary identification has confirmed the identities of the Italians and work will go on to confirm via DNA through Interpol and other partners. In the meantime, all the bodies will be repatriated to Italy.” U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
The five victims were identified by the Maldivian government as Monica Montefalcone, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa; her daughter Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti. Montefalcone and 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. CBS NewsCBS News
The group was led by Montefalcone, 51, a marine ecologist who was a regular diver in Maldivian waters. The divers had been granted the necessary permit to research soft corals at the Devana Kandu site. U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
The recovery operation stretched over nearly a week and claimed an additional life. Sergeant Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness on Saturday after being transferred to a hospital in the capital Malé during a second recovery attempt. Shareef told reporters at the time: “The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission.” CBS NewsCBS News
At its deepest point, the cave reaches 70 meters — approximately 230 feet — below the surface, roughly the height of a 20-story building, and stretches 200 meters in length. Shareef noted that the legal depth for recreational diving in the Maldives is 30 meters, or 100 feet. The Italian group was operating at depths far beyond that threshold. CNNCNN
Conditions inside the cave were described as extremely challenging, with unpredictable strong currents, narrow passageways leading to a vast chamber, and pitch-black darkness throughout. Shareef told CNN: “You have to be an expert for this level of diving.” Each dive during the recovery mission was limited to around three hours due to oxygen and decompression requirements. CNN + 2
Following the death of Sergeant Mahudhee, the Maldivian government suspended search operations and sought international assistance. The bodies were located on Monday as searches resumed after the suspension, with a Finnish specialist team brought in to support recovery efforts. A government spokesperson described conditions during the recovery dives as “very challenging,” citing poor visibility and strong currents. U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
The body of the group’s diving instructor was recovered on Friday, and the remains of two other divers were retrieved on Tuesday after the Finnish team joined the effort. The final two bodies were brought to the surface on Wednesday. U.S. News & World Report
Government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam said the four bodies found deeper in the cave were located “pretty much together.” A spokesperson for Italy’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the bodies of Montefalcone and Gualtieri had been among those recovered from the cave’s deepest chamber. Washington TimesCNN
Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone’s husband and the father of Giorgia Sommacal, spoke to Italian media about his confusion over the cause of the accident. He said “something must have happened down there,” given his wife and daughter’s extensive diving experience, and described Montefalcone to Italian television as a careful and disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or colleagues at risk, the Associated Press reported. CNN
Maldivian authorities are investigating multiple possible causes behind the deaths, including whether the group descended far deeper than expected. Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the circumstances of the deaths remain under investigation. An investigation is underway to establish what happened to the divers and how they reached such depths, as no recreational or commercial diver is legally permitted to dive beyond 30 meters in the Maldives. U.S. News & World Report + 2
Regional and International Impact
The incident has drawn attention from both the Italian and Maldivian governments. Italy’s ambassador to Colombo, who oversees relations with the Maldives, traveled to Malé to meet with coast guard officials, and the Italian Embassy maintained contact with the victims’ families throughout the operation. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said the search for the remaining divers had been “our highest priority,” adding: “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased Italian, the missing four Italians and everyone affected.” CNNCBS News
Local media reports said at least 112 tourists had died in marine-related incidents in the Maldives in the past six years, with 42 of them falling victim to diving or snorkeling accidents. The deaths of the five Italians, combined with the death of a Maldivian military diver during the recovery mission, are likely to intensify scrutiny of diving permit oversight and depth regulations in the archipelago. CBS News
Background
The Maldives is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at remote resorts or aboard liveaboard dive boats. The nation consists of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean. The cave at Devana Kandu is located in Vaavu Atoll, south of the capital, Malé. The cave has been dived in the past by local experts and foreign divers, though authorities said they did not know from the permit application that the group intended to enter the cave system. The cause of Sergeant Mahudhee’s death remained under investigation, though colleagues suggested he may have died from nitrogen narcosis or decompression at depth. CNN + 3
What Happens Next
Shareef confirmed that all five bodies will be repatriated to Italy, and that DNA confirmation through Interpol and other partners will proceed alongside the preliminary identifications already made. The Maldivian government said it would continue investigations to “find the facts of what happened.” Italy’s Foreign Ministry has said its own investigation into the circumstances of the deaths is ongoing. The death of Sergeant Mahudhee during the recovery operation is also subject to a separate inquiry by Maldivian authorities. U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
