Bodies of Four Italian Divers Located in Maldives Cave Recovery Operation
Rome: Rescuers have located the bodies of four Italian divers believed trapped inside an underwater cave system in the Maldives after a hazardous multinational recovery operation that also claimed the life of a Maldivian military diver, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The four were among five Italian divers who went missing while exploring caves at a depth of about 50 meters in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italian authorities. The Maldives sets a recreational diving limit of 30 meters.
The body of a fifth Italian diver, identified as a diving instructor, was recovered earlier outside the cave system, Maldivian authorities said.
Search operations resumed Monday after being temporarily suspended following the death of Mohamed Mahudhee, a diver with the Maldives National Defence Force who died from decompression illness during the recovery mission on Saturday.
The Maldives National Defence Force said the first recovered Italian diver was found about 60 meters deep inside a cave estimated to extend roughly 200 feet in length. Officials believed the remaining divers were also trapped within the same underwater structure.
Three Finnish cave divers Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund and Patrik Grönqvist joined the operation on Sunday, according to the diving safety organization DAN Europe.
The Finnish team coordinated with Maldivian military personnel and local officials in difficult sea conditions that complicated recovery efforts in the Indian Ocean archipelago, authorities said.
The incident has drawn attention to the risks associated with deep cave diving in the Maldives, a major global destination for recreational scuba tourism known for its coral reefs and underwater cave systems.
