A Maldivian military diver has died during a high-risk operation to recover the bodies of four Italian scuba divers who drowned while exploring an underwater cave in Vaavu Atoll. Mohamed Mahudhee suffered decompression sickness after searching for the divers and died in hospital, according to Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef.
The five Italian divers died on Thursday in what officials described as the worst single diving accident in the Maldives. The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an ecology professor at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body has been recovered. The cause of death is under investigation.
Recovery efforts were temporarily suspended on Friday due to bad weather but resumed on Saturday. A team of eight Maldivian divers had explored two of three chambers in the cave but were hampered in reaching the third. Two Italian experts – a deep-sea rescue specialist and a cave diving expert – are expected to join the operation.
The divers were exploring at a depth of 50 metres (164ft), exceeding the recreational diving limit of 30 metres in the Maldives. The luxury yacht Duke of York, which the Italians were aboard, had its operating licence suspended indefinitely pending an investigation into why the group went below the permitted depth.
Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, told Italian television that he believed an incident must have occurred and ruled out recklessness. He described his wife as a disciplined and experienced diver who had survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami while diving off Kenya. The University of Genoa stated that Montefalcone and Oddenino were on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments.
