A Maldivian military diver has tragically died during a perilous operation to recover the bodies of four Italian scuba divers who drowned while exploring a deep underwater cave in the Maldives. The diver, identified as Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian national defence force, suffered underwater decompression sickness after searching for the bodies of the Italians. He was transferred to a hospital in the capital, Male, where he succumbed to the illness.
According to Italy's foreign ministry, the five Italians had "apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft)" in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday. The body of one diver, Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor, was found near the mouth of a cave shortly after the incident. Rescuers believe the remaining four divers are inside the same cave, which is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the Maldives presidential spokesperson, highlighted the difficulty of the mission, stating, "The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission." Authorities had temporarily suspended recovery attempts on Friday due to bad weather but resumed the search on Saturday. Mahudhee was part of a group of divers who had briefed the Maldives president, Mohamed Muizzu, on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
Recovery Efforts and International Involvement
A recovery team of eight divers, working in pairs, had already explored two of the three chambers on Friday but were hampered in their efforts to explore the third chamber. The search resumed on Saturday, with two Italian experts—a deep-sea rescue specialist and a cave diving expert—expected to join the recovery effort. Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, stated that the Italian government "will do everything possible to recover the bodies of our compatriots."
Victims Identified
The deceased have been identified 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, whose body has been recovered. The causes of their deaths remain unknown and are under investigation.
The University of Genoa confirmed that Montefalcone and Oddenino were on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of the climate crisis on tropical biodiversity. Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, expressed his belief that an incident must have occurred and ruled out recklessness on his wife's part. "Something must have happened," he told Italian TV channel Rete 4. He described her as a disciplined diver who carefully weighed risks before each descent, noting that she "had two lives—one on land and one in her environment, the water."
Diving Risks and Regulations
Diving at 50 metres exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most scuba certifying agencies. Depths beyond 40 metres are considered technical diving, which requires specialised training and equipment. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 metres (98ft). Experts have warned that cave divers can easily become disoriented or lost, particularly when sediment clouds reduce visibility.
The Italians were passengers aboard a 36-metre luxury yacht named the Duke of York. On Saturday, the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation suspended the yacht's operating licence "indefinitely," pending the outcome of an investigation. A website link related to the ship was not functioning on Saturday, and the owner of the yacht did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shareef said investigators are looking into why the group went below the officially permitted depth of 30 metres. Officials have described the incident as the worst single diving accident in the Maldives, an archipelago of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across hundreds of miles of the Indian Ocean.
Greenpeace Italia paid tribute to Montefalcone as a passionate advocate for marine protection, stating they will miss "her professionalism and her advice immensely." The organisation recalled the "special light she had in her eyes" when speaking about the wonders of the sea and the importance of protecting them.
