A Maldivian military diver has died during a high-risk mission to recover the bodies of four Italian scuba divers who drowned while exploring a deep underwater cave in the Maldives. The diver suffered decompression sickness after searching for the bodies of the Italians, who, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, had “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft).”
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the Maldives presidential spokesperson, said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian national defence force, died from the sickness after being taken to a hospital in the capital, Malé. “The death shows how difficult the mission was,” he said.
Authorities had temporarily paused the recovery efforts on Friday due to bad weather but resumed the search on Saturday. Mahudhee was part of the group of divers who briefed the Maldives president, Mohamed Muizzu, on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
In total, five Italians died in the scuba diving accident in Vaavu Atoll, part of the Indian Ocean archipelago, on Thursday, according to Italy’s foreign ministry. The body of the fifth diver was found near the mouth of a cave shortly after, and rescuers believe the remaining four divers are inside the same cave, which is split into three large chambers connected by narrow passages.
Marine biologist Federico Gualtieri has been identified as one of the five deceased. Working in pairs, a recovery team of eight divers had already explored two of the three chambers on Friday but struggled to reach the third chamber. The search resumed on Saturday, with two Italians—a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert—expected to join the recovery effort.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said the Italian government “will do everything possible to recover the bodies of our compatriots.” The deceased have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate 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 their deaths is unknown and is under investigation.
Officials said this was the worst single diving accident in the Maldives, which consists of 1,192 tiny coral islands spread across hundreds of miles of the Indian Ocean. The University of Genoa stated that Montefalcone and Oddenino were on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of the climate crisis on tropical biodiversity.
Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, said he believes something must have gone wrong and ruled out recklessness on his wife’s part. “Something must have happened,” he told Italian TV channel Rete 4. He added that his wife, an experienced diver who survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami while diving off Kenya, “had two lives—one on land and one in her environment, the water.” He described her as a disciplined diver who carefully weighed risks before each dive and recalled her sometimes telling him, “This one I can do, you can’t.”
Diving at 50 metres exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most scuba certifying agencies. Depths beyond 40 metres are considered technical diving, which requires specialized training and equipment. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 metres (98ft), and experts have warned that cave divers can easily become disoriented or lost, especially when sediment clouds reduce visibility.
The Italians were passengers on a 36-metre luxury yacht called the Duke of York, whose operating licence was suspended “indefinitely” on Saturday by the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, pending the outcome of an investigation. A website link related to the ship was not working on Saturday, and the yacht’s owner did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.Investigators are looking into why the group went deeper than the official limit of 30 metres.
Greenpeace Italia, the environmental group, paid tribute to Montefalcone, calling her a passionate advocate for marine protection. They said they would miss “her professionalism and her advice immensely.” They also remembered “the special light she had in her eyes” when she talked about the wonders of the sea and why it’s so important to protect them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the search for the Italian scuba divers in the Maldives
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What happened to the Italian scuba divers in the Maldives
Two Italian scuba divers drowned while exploring an underwater cave Their bodies were trapped inside the cave and search teams had to stop the recovery for a while due to dangerous conditions
2 Why did the search stop and why did it resume now
The search was paused because the cave was too dangerous for divers to enter safely It resumed after the weather improved and the water became calmer making it safer for the recovery team to go back in
3 Where exactly did this accident happen
The accident occurred in a submerged cave system near a resort in the South Male Atoll a popular area for diving in the Maldives
4 How deep is the cave where the divers were found
The cave is located at a depth of around 30 to 40 meters This is considered a deep technical dive not a simple recreational dive
5 Is cave diving in the Maldives common or safe
Cave diving is rare in the Maldives and is considered an advanced highrisk activity Most tourists stick to reef diving This tragedy highlights the extreme danger of enclosed underwater spaces
Advanced Technical Questions
6 What specific dangers made the initial recovery attempt impossible
The main dangers were zero visibility tight passages that could trap divers and the risk of decompression sickness if divers stayed too long at that depth The rescue team decided it was too risky to send divers in without clear conditions
7 How are recovery divers trained to handle a situation like this
Recovery divers in such cases are typically technical or cave divers with specialized training in silt management line laying and handling bodies in confined spaces They also use specialized gas mixes to avoid nitrogen narcosis at depth
8 What equipment is being used for this deep cave recovery
The team is likely using fullface masks multiple air tanks with different gas blends underwater communication devices reels with guide lines and powerful dive lights They also have backup systems in case of equipment failure
9 Could the accident have been prevented
In many cave diving accidents prevention
