Finnish divers may have solved the mystery surrounding the deaths of five tourists in a 'pitch black cave' in the Maldives. The experts have suggested that the deceased researchers might have taken the wrong tunnel as they exited the cave complex.
Details of the Incident
Five Italians on a research trip died during a dive into the 160-foot 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 have now all been retrieved. They were accompanied by diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was found earlier. The group is believed to have died around 160 feet deep while on a research trip about soft corals on Thursday morning. They had launched the expedition from the Duke of York yacht, which did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100 feet.
Worst Diving Incident in Maldives History
In total, six people have been killed in connection with the cave dive. Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee died from decompression illness on Saturday during a recovery mission. These deaths have been called the worst diving incident in the history of the island nation and have sparked a frenzy of questions about how events unfolded.
Finnish Experts' Theory
A team of Finnish experts has now suggested that the Italian researchers may have taken the wrong tunnel on their way out of the cave. The professional divers, working for Dan Europe, discovered the Italians in a corridor with a dead end inside the underwater complex, Italy's La Repubblica daily reported. 'There was no way out from there,' the company's CEO, Laura Marroni, was quoted as saying.
Cave Complex Layout
Marroni revealed details of the cave complex and how the doomed dive might have played out. She told the newspaper the cave begins with a first large, very bright cavern with a sandy bottom. At the end of that room is a poorly lit corridor, but with good visibility using artificial lighting. The passageway is almost 30 metres long and three metres across, leading to a second chamber of the cave. That second chamber is a large, round space with no natural light. However, between the corridor and the second chamber is a sandbank. While it is easy to get over the sandbank into the second chamber on the way in, when you turn around to leave, the bank almost looks like a wall. That 'wall' then hides the corridor behind it. On the left of the sandbank is another corridor, only a few dozen metres long. 'The divers' bodies were all found inside, as if they had mistaken it for the right one,' La Repubblica reported.
Limited Air Supply
If they had taken that corridor by mistake, 'then it would have been very difficult to return, especially with the limited air supply,' Marroni said. She estimated that the Italians had about 10 minutes or less of air left. She added: 'Realising that the path is the wrong one and having little air, perhaps after going back and forth, is terrifying. Then you breathe quickly, and the air supply decreases.'
Family and Investigation
Monica's husband and Giorgia's father, 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'. 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. Another theory being considered is that the divers were sucked into a cave by a strong 'freak' current, known as the 'Venturi effect'.
