Recovery of Missing Italian Divers in Maldives

Italy’s Foreign Ministry announced that rescuers have found the bodies of four Italian divers in an underwater cave in a Maldives atoll. The recovery efforts resumed on Monday after a local military diver tragically died during the initial search mission.

The divers were exploring Vaavu Atoll at a depth of roughly 50 meters, exceeding the Maldives’ recreational diving limit of 30 meters. Prior searches had revealed the body of a fifth diver—a diving instructor—outside the cave.

A team of Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving, arrived on Sunday to formulate a new approach for locating the remaining bodies. On Monday, Maldives police and military began a joint search with the Finnish team. Ahmed Shaam, a government spokesman, reported that they discovered the four bodies, although it remains unclear if the discovery was made through physical observation or drone cameras.

The search faced suspension after Mohamed Mahudhee of the Maldivian National Defense Force died from underwater decompression sickness. Rough weather conditions also posed challenges to the rescue efforts.

Initial teams had marked the entrance to the cave system where the divers went missing. Investigation into the cause of the fatalities is ongoing.