One of the divers who are searching for the bodies of four drowned Italians after an accident in this tourist destination in the Indian Ocean has died in the Maldives. local authorities announced on Saturday. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
Teams from the Maldivian National Defense Force (MNDF) have been searching for the Italians for the third day as they tried to explore the underwater caves on Thursday. Four people are missing and the body of the fifth was found by the authorities on the day of the disappearance. The search operation continues despite the unfavorable weather. The defense force official was taken to hospital in a “critical condition but later died while undergoing treatment” after surfacing. the MNDF said in a statement.
On Saturday morning, the Maldives took away the operating license of the luxury ship from which the Italians went diving. The University of Genoa said university professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter and two young researchers were among the missing. A government spokesman said an investigation had been launched to find out why the group dived deeper than allowed. The body of the first person found was in a cave at a depth of 60 meters, while diving up to 30 meters is allowed.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has suspended the operating license of the cruise ship Duke of York indefinitely pending the results of the investigation into the diving accident that occurred on May 14 at Vaavu Atoll,” the ministry said.
Vaavu Atoll is one of the sought-after diving locations, but exploring the cave systems at depths of around 50 meters requires advanced training and following security protocols.
