Divers find bodies of 2 Italians in Maldives sea cave, 2 others still trapped inside

The bodies of two Italian divers were brought to light on Tuesday after the worst disaster in the Maldives, according to a government spokesman. The two were among the five divers who failed to return after entering the water on May 14, said department spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef.

Two more bodies are yet to be raised from the same cave, at a depth of 195 feet under the sea. The body of one member of the dive party was found on Thursday, and a Maldivian lifeguard died of complications from dementia on Saturday.

Divers were planning to recover the remaining two bodies on Wednesday.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that rescuers had found the bodies of the four Italian divers which were still inside the depths of an underwater cave on the island of the Maldives.

The search resumed on Monday after being suspended following the incident the death of a local navy diver during the dangerous mission of trying to reach them.

The government of the Indian Ocean island nation confirmed that the bodies were found in the inner part of the cave by three Finnish experts, supported by the Maldives police and military.

“As previously thought, these four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but also inside the cave entering the third part of the cave, which is the largest part,” said Ahmed Shaam, a spokesman for the Maldives government.

He said the four were found “very close together.”

The body of a fifth Italian – a diving instructor – was found earlier outside the cave. The five were exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry.

Three Finnish experts Deeper and deeper into the caves came Sunday in the Maldives to help in the recovery effort.

The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; his daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Benedetti’s body was found on Thursday near the mouth of the cave.

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, the University of Genoa said in a statement on Friday. However, the scuba diving activity where the fatal accident occurred was not part of an organized study and was “conducted in secret,” it said.

Bad weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.

The first teams have already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Divers exceed recommended limits

Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires special training, equipment and strict safety rules. Dangers are greatest in areas where divers cannot go straight up and deep, especially when conditions are poor. Experts say it’s easy to get confused or lost inside the caves, especially since clouds of sediment can greatly reduce visibility.

The group’s depth exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most established scuba certification agencies.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cave was divided into three large rooms connected by small openings. Recovery teams checked two of the three rooms on Friday, but the search was limited due to oxygen depletion and collapse.

Local officials called the incident the worst single diving accident in the history of the Maldives, a country of 1,192 small coral islands scattered about 500 kilometers across the equator in the Indian Ocean.

Accidents related to diving and sports appear to be rare in the South Asian nation, although 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 trip near the capital in June.

Local media reports say that at least 112 tourists have died in sea-related incidents in the past six years, and 42 of them were victims of diving or water skiing accidents.