Maldives President’s Media Division / EPA
Divers preparing to participate in the search and rescue operation for four Italian tourists missing in the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Maldives.
Bodies were found inside an underwater cave on the atoll and are expected to be recovered in the coming days.
Maldivian authorities have located the bodies of four Italian divers who had been missing since Thursday, after being reported missing during a diving expedition at Vaavu Atoll.
The search operation was being coordinated by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), together with local police and experts mobilized by the Italian Government. According to the MNDF, cited by the agency, the bodies were found inside an underwater cave in the atoll and should be recovered in the coming days, when new immersions are carried out.
Divers, including one marine scientist and her daughterwere part of a scientific expedition and explored a system of underwater caves. The group, which had decades of accumulated experience, was unable to return to the surface.
Four of the divers were part of a scientists from the University of Genoaincluding the ecology professor Monica Montefalconehis daughter and two researchers.
The victims are Monica Montefalconeyour daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, Muriel Oddenino e Federico Gualtieri.
Monica Montefalcone was a marine ecologist at the University of Genoa; your daughter Giorgia Sommacal, biomedical engineering student and Muriel Oddeninoresearcher, both the same; Federico Gualtieri he was a former student of the ecologist; and Gianluca Benedetti He was a diving instructor.
The group was exploring a submerged cave about 60 meters deep when the accident occurred. The body of a fifth element, the diving instructor Gianluca Benedettihad already been recovered on the day of the tragedy.
On Monday, three Finnish cave divers — Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund and Patrik Grönqvist — joined the search and recovery work.
The operation was also marked by the rescue of the MNDF, which suffered complications related to decompression after an immersion carried out during the searches on Saturday.
The Maldivian police announced that they had opened a criminal investigation to find out what happened. In a statement, local authorities said they were investigating whether the expedition complied with safety protocols, including weather warnings.
