Mum and daughter among 4 tourist divers’ bodies recovered from Maldives underwater cave

The bodies of all four Italian divers who died deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives have now been recovered, with Finnish divers retrieving the last two victims from the cave’s innermost depths

The final two bodies of four Italian divers who tragically lost their lives deep within an underwater cave in the Maldives last week have been retrieved. The Italian explorers had been investigating the cave in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday when they vanished.

Their Italian diving instructor’s body was discovered outside the cave, and Finnish recovery divers brought the bodies of two of the divers to the surface on Tuesday. Presidential spokesperson Mohameed Hussain Shareef confirmed that the remaining two bodies were recovered by three Finnish divers, with support from the Maldives coastguard and police.

The bodies were transported to a morgue and identified as Muriel Oddenino and Giorgia Sommacal. On Tuesday, Monica Montefalcone and Federico Gualtieri were extracted, according to government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam.

The instructor, Gianluca Benedetti, was located near the entrance of the cave on the day the divers went missing. Ms Montefalcone and Ms Sommacal were mother and daughter.

“After that we will coordinate with the Italian government and start the procedure to repatriate the bodies,” Mr Shareef stated.

He expressed gratitude towards the Finnish divers, commending them for their professionalism and leadership. The four bodies were found on Monday at a depth of approximately 60 metres, double the legal limit for recreational diving in the island nation.

The search operation was temporarily halted after a local military diver tragically died during a risky retrieval attempt.

The Maldives government revealed that recovery divers discovered the bodies in the cave’s deepest section. Mr Shaam confirmed the four bodies were found “pretty much together”.

The cave has previously been investigated by local specialists and international divers, presidential spokesperson Mr Shareef informed The Associated Press earlier.

While the Italian divers possessed a permit, authorities were unaware from their submission of the precise location of the cave they were investigating, and at least two of the deceased were not included on the researchers’ list that had been provided, “so we didn’t know they were part of the expedition,” Mr Shareef explained.

He characterised the conditions far within the cave as “challenging” with treacherous terrain, powerful currents and limited visibility.

A warning had also been issued owing to adverse weather conditions and investigators must establish whether the divers took sufficient precautions.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the Finnish divers, described them as technical and cave divers with expertise in search and recovery operations, including missions in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces and high-risk scenarios.”

The rescue team utilised closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and eliminates carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, enabling “significantly longer dives,” the organisation stated. The cause of death of the Maldivian military diver is still being investigated, but colleagues have suggested he may have died from nitrogen narcosis or decompression at depth.