Mystery grows in Maldives: a diver died while rescuing the bodies of Italian tourists

El sargento Mohamed Mahdhee He lost his life after feeling unwell during the dive to try to locate the Italians, whose bodies are believed to be trapped inside an underwater cave 60 meters deep, the military forces reported this Saturday.

The operation to recover the bodies presents some difficulties that put rescue teams at risk. General Mohamed Saleem explained on Maldivian public television, Public Service Media (PSM), that his Coast Guard troops are only trained to descend up to 50 meters.

Going down those additional ten meters to reach the cavern means an increase in physical pressure and technical demands in a very narrow environment with poor visibility.

On May 14, the group of five Italians failed to surface after entering this dangerous cave about 60 meters deep in the waters of the island of Alimathà, a common destination for scuba diving lovers. The Italian Foreign Ministry has declared them dead.

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

To date, emergency services They only managed to recover the body of Benedettie at the entrance to the cave. The other four victims, including three women and a man, remain trapped in the depths waiting for teams to access the site safely.

The University of Genoa indicated in a statement on Friday that Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on a scientific mission official to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity. However, he noted that the scuba diving activity during which the fatal accident occurred was not part of the planned investigation and was “conducted privately.”

The statement also indicated that the other two victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not participating in the scientific mission.

Italian officials noted that around other 20 Italians who were on the same expedition aboard the ship “Duke of York” they were safe. The Italian embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those on board and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological support.

The Maldives Ministry of Tourism reported that it has suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.