The bodies of four Italian tourists who drowned in an accident in the Maldives last week were found by divers in an underwater cave. This was confirmed on Monday by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes TASR according to a report by the DPA agency.
- The bodies of four Italian tourists were found by divers in an underwater cave near the Maldives.
- The search was suspended after the death of a military diver during a rescue operation.
- The Italians were diving near the island of Alimathaa to a depth of approximately fifty meters.
- The crew of the Duke of York called the Coast Guard after exceeding the surfacing time.
- Investigators are considering technical failure, a decompression error, and strong ocean currents.
The search lasted several days and was called off after a military diver died in action over the weekend. The Maldivian National Defense Force said on the X social network that in more dives will be carried out in the coming days to bring the bodies of the drowned tourists to the surface.
The tragedy occurred last Thursday near the island of Alimathaa, where Italians were trying to explore underwater caves. According to the preliminary findings of the investigators, the divers descended to a depth of approximately 50 meters. Rescuers discovered the body of one of them shortly after the incident.
The crew of the Duke of York cruise ship, which foreign clients use to transport them to the dive site, alerted the Coast Guard after the group has exceeded the spawn time limit. The cause of the accident remains unknown.
Experts are investigating whether technical failure, failure to comply with decompression procedures at great depth or unexpectedly strong sea currents contributed to the tragedy. Weather conditions at the dive site were so unfavorable on Thursday that the weather service issued a yellow warning for the area.
