Repatriation of Italian Divers’ Remains Following Tragic Cave Incident in the Maldives

The remains of four Italian divers who perished inside an underwater cave in the Maldives earlier this month were repatriated to Italy early Saturday, according to a Maldivian government spokesperson. The incident involved five Italian divers who went missing on May 14 while exploring a cave approximately 160 feet underwater in Vaavu Atoll. The body of their Italian diving instructor was initially recovered outside the cave and returned home shortly afterwards.

Recovering the bodies posed significant challenges, and the operation was temporarily halted after Mohamed Mahudhee, a military diver from the Maldives and part of the recovery team, was tragically killed during the mission. To overcome these challenges, the team enlisted the help of three Finnish expert deep and cave divers who successfully located the four bodies last week within the innermost chamber of the cave at a depth of around 200 feet, or 60 meters.

It is important to note that the recreational diving limit in the Maldives is approximately 98 feet, or 30 meters. The Maldives President’s spokesman, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, announced that two separate investigations are underway. One focuses on the circumstances surrounding the death of the five divers, while the other examines the cause of Mahudhee’s death during his duties. Shareef also mentioned that Italy has agreed to share any findings from autopsies performed on the repatriated bodies.

On May 19, Red Crescent emergency responders and police personnel were seen transferring the bodies of the Italian tourists from a police speedboat to an ambulance in Male. The victims included Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

Government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam earlier indicated that the body’s discovery showed they were “pretty much together.” Italy’s La Repubblica daily reported that the group was found inside a dead-end chamber. The CEO of Dan Europe, the Finnish group involved in the recovery, mentioned that the group “may have got lost” within the cave structure. He highlighted the limited air supply the divers had, suggesting that there was likely insufficient time for multiple attempts to find the correct exit from the cave.