The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been brought to the surface, local officials have confirmed.
They were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by the specialist divers from Finland after a two-hour operation, Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, told the BBC.
The two bodies are being taken to the capital Male for identification. They were among five individuals who tragically died in the incident; two bodies remain inside the cave.
The first body was that of an Italian diver named Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor and operations manager for the group. His body was recovered shortly after the accident, which occurred near Vaavu Atoll.
On Saturday, a Maldivian rescue diver also lost his life during the search efforts for the missing individuals. The four divers were later found by Finnish divers in the chamber of the cave furthest from the entrance, known colloquially as shark cave, which reaches depths of up to 60 meters (197 feet).
Rescue operations are set to continue, with officials hoping to recover the remaining two bodies soon. This operation is complicated due to the depth and limited visibility within the cave, adding pressure to determine the accident's cause.
It has been reported that the Finnish divers worked collaboratively with local police and coastguard, indicating the depth posed substantial challenges. The entrance to the cave is located at a depth of 47 meters, with varying depths for its chambers.
The weather conditions during the dive were described as rough, leading to a yellow warning issued for marine activities. Additionally, it has come to light that four of the divers were affiliated with the University of Genoa, a fact that has sparked further discussions about the approval of deep-sea dives for research purposes.
The university stated it had suspended authorization for any diving activities beyond its regulations, which have been enacted since March 2024, following a ministerial decree defining protocols for underwater research dives.
Now, the focus is on discovering the missing bodies as it may provide crucial information about the circumstances surrounding this devastating incident.
