Rescuers have located the bodies of four Italian divers deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives, four days after they were reported missing. The discovery was confirmed on Monday by the Maldives government, after three Finnish diving experts, supported by local police and the military, spotted the bodies in the innermost part of the cave.
Government spokesman Ahmed Shaam said the bodies were found well inside the cave, in its third and largest segment. He added that recovery efforts are planned to begin imminently, with two bodies expected to be recovered on the first day and the remaining two the following day.
The body of a fifth Italian diver, a diving instructor, had been found earlier outside the cave. The group had been exploring the cave at a depth of about 50 metres in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, well beyond the Maldives' recreational diving limit of 30 metres, according to Italy's foreign ministry.
The Maldives presidential spokesman, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, said the group had been given a permit to research soft corals at the Devana Kandu site, but that the authorities were not aware it involved cave diving. He noted that cave diving is a distinct discipline with its own risks, particularly at such depth.
The boat used by the divers, the MV Duke of York, has had its operation suspended because it lacked the required dive school permit for expeditions, according to Shareef. The boat's operator, Abdul Muhsin Moosa, maintained that the vessel had permission for recreational diving up to 30 metres, and said the divers had been briefed on arrival about the limit.
The incident is the deadliest single diving accident in the country's history. The search had been temporarily suspended after a Maldivian military diver died of decompression sickness during an earlier rescue attempt. The cause of the Italians' deaths remains under investigation.
