Rescue diver – A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the remains of four Italian divers believed to be trapped deep inside a cave in Vaavu Atoll, after rough weather and difficult diving conditions hampered the operation. The victims include an associa
A Maldivian military diver died Saturday during a search for four Italian divers believed to have perished while exploring an underwater cave, leaving rescuers still trying to bring the missing home.
Mohammed Hussain Shareef. the Maldives Presidential Spokesman. said Mohamed Mahudhee. a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force. died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.. “The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” Shareef said.
Mahudhee was part of the group that briefed Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when Muizzu visited the search site on Friday. Officials said searchers had prepared a plan based on their progress exploring the cave on Friday, but rough weather repeatedly hampered efforts.
Italian Foreign Ministry officials said four divers from a group of five Italian divers were believed to have died while exploring the cave at a depth of about 160 feet in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday.. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters, or about 98 feet.. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home.
The pattern of the operation has been shaped by the same tight constraints from start to finish: search teams developed a plan after progress on Friday. but on Friday the cave exploration was limited by oxygen and decompression concerns. and Saturday’s push continued despite those conditions. ending with the rescue diver’s death from underwater decompression sickness.
Benedetti’s body was recovered earlier on Thursday. Shareef said his remains were found near the mouth of the cave, and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.
Officials: some victims tied to scientific work
The Italian divers were later 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.
The University of Genoa said 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.. It also said the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately.”
Police said the weather was rough in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday and there was a yellow warning for passenger boats and fishermen.
The Maldives government said two other victims—student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri—were not involved in the scientific mission.
Italian officials said around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard a vessel named the “Duke of York” were safe. Italy’s embassy in Colombo provided assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The Maldives tourism ministry said it suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation, while Italian officials and the honorary consul remained in contact with the victims’ families.
Muizzu said the country’s focus remained on the missing.
“Searching for the remaining victims is the country’s ‘highest priority.'” Muizzu said in a statement on social media, 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.”
Recovery efforts include divers and medical support
Shareef said the Maldivian government was coordinating with Divers Alert Network. a specialist diving organization. to support recovery operations and the repatriation of the bodies.. He said two Italians—one a deep-sea rescue expert and another a cave diving expert—were expected to join the recovery effort.
He also said aircraft and speedboats were deployed for a major search after the group was reported missing on Thursday afternoon, carried out by the Maldives National Defense Force.
Local officials described the incident as the worst single diving accident in the history of the Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered about 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean.
Diving accidents have been relatively rare in the Maldives. officials said. though several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.. A British woman tourist died while diving in December. and her distraught 71-year-old husband died a few days later after falling ill.. A 26-year-old Japanese tourist went missing after a diving expedition near the capital in June.
Local media reports cited at least 112 tourists dying in marine-related incidents in the archipelago in the past six years, with 42 of them tied to diving or snorkeling accidents.
Maldives decompression sickness cave diving Italian divers Vaavu Atoll Muizzu Duke of York Divers Alert Network