The search for five Italian divers missing after a deep-water cave expedition in the Maldives concluded with the discovery of all bodies, including two experts found on 19/5. The accident, which occurred on 15/5, also tragically claimed the life of a Maldives National Defense Force sergeant due to decompression sickness during the rescue operation.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, a Maldives government spokesperson, stated on 19/5 that authorities located the two victims in the third, deepest chamber of an underwater cave on Alimatha Island, part of Vaavu Atoll. "Their identities have not been officially confirmed, but we have identified them as one male and one female," Shareef said. Italian media identified the bodies as Professor Monica Montefalcone (51) and doctoral student Federico Gualtieri from the University of Genoa. The victims' bodies are currently being transferred to a morgue in the capital Male for repatriation to Italy.
The accident began on 15/5 when the group of five divers entered the deep-water cave and went missing. On the first day of the search, rescuers found the body of Italian guide Gianluca Benedetti. Two other group members, doctoral student Muriel Oddenino and Giorgia Sommacal (Montefalcone's daughter), are expected to be recovered on 20/5 (local time).
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Divers prepare for search operations near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, 15/5. *Photo: ABC*
Speculation regarding the accident's cause has been widespread across media and international diving forums. Initially, many suggested the divers violated the standard 30-meter depth limit for recreational diving in the Maldives. However, several news outlets, including Italy's Corriere Della Sera, reported finding documents indicating that Montefalcone and her team possessed a permit to dive to a depth of 50 meters for scientific research. Montefalcone was a leading expert on Maldivian coral.
The permit, issued in February, was valid from 3/5 to 17/5, covering depths of 0-50 meters. This document only registered the names of three of the five divers: Montefalcone, doctoral students Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri. Montefalcone's daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, and Italian guide Gianluca Benedetti were not listed on this permit. The specific reason for requiring the permit might relate to an undisclosed special coral species.
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Professor Montefalcone. *Photo: ABC*
A reporter from Italy's Corriere Della Sera interviewed Shareef regarding this document. Shareef explained that while the 30-meter limit applies to recreational diving, researchers can propose deeper dives, and Maldivian law does not prohibit this. "The main issue is that they undertook cave diving. To my knowledge, their research proposal did not mention this," the Maldives government spokesperson added.
The existence of the permit strengthens the hypothesis that the expert group planned to dive deep for research. However, this still does not explain why they decided to venture inside the underwater cave.
By Hoai Anh (According to Reuters, Dive Magazine)
