UMVA has learned that the bodies of four Italian divers who went missing in the Maldives have been discovered inside a treacherous 60-meter-deep sea cave in Vaavu Atoll.
The divers, identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, and researcher Muriel Oddenino, were part of a group that included diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was found earlier near the cave's entrance.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that the recovery operation was marred by tragedy when a senior military diver, Sgt. Mohamed Mahudhee, lost his life during a second mission into the cave, underscoring the extreme dangers of the dive.
The group had been on a research trip aboard the Duke of York vessel, with permission to study coral, though authorities noted no mention of the cave in their proposal. It remains unclear why they ventured into the cave, which far exceeded the 30-meter depth limit for recreational divers.
UMVA has gathered that rough weather conditions in the area, approximately 100 kilometers south of the Maldives’ capital, Male, may have contributed to the accident, which is still under investigation.
The operation to recover the bodies, temporarily halted after Sgt. Mahudhee’s death, resumed on Monday, with further dives planned to retrieve the remains from the cave’s deepest section.
