{"id":466,"date":"2026-05-16T20:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T20:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=466"},"modified":"2026-05-16T20:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T20:34:07","slug":"maldives-suspends-search-for-4-italians-in-underwater-cave-after-military-diver-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=466","title":{"rendered":"Maldives suspends search for 4 Italians in underwater cave after military diver dies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) \u2014 Maldivian authorities on Saturday suspended the search for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave, after a military diver died during a perilous mission to try to reach them.<\/p>\n

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The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy\u2019s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).<\/p>\n

Maldives presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.<\/p>\n

Authorities are awaiting the arrival of three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving, on Sunday, to rethink their search strategy, he said.<\/p>\n

Mahudhee will be buried with military honors in a funeral attended by President Mohamed Muzzu on Saturday night. The diver was part of the group that had briefed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,\u201d Shareef said.<\/p>\n

Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.<\/p>\n

Search operations on Saturday involved eight local divers who worked in shifts to locate the missing Italians, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. Initial teams had already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.<\/p>\n

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. He offered his condolences for the death of the Maldivian diver during the rescue efforts.<\/p>\n

The victims are described as experienced divers<\/p>\n

The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.<\/p>\n

Benedetti\u2019s body was recovered on Thursday. His body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.<\/p>\n

Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was \u201cundertaken privately,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The statement also said the two other victims \u2014 student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri \u2014 were not involved in the scientific mission.<\/p>\n

Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone\u2019s husband and Giorgia\u2019s father, expressed doubts over the accident, saying that \u201csomething must have happened down there\u201d given his wife and daughter’s extensive experience.<\/p>\n

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Speaking to Italian TV, he described Montefalcone as a careful and highly disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or other colleagues at risk.<\/p>\n

Tour operator says it didn’t authorize deep dive<\/p>\n

The Italian tour operator that manages the Maldives’ diving trip denied authorizing or knowing about the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator \u201cdid not know\u201d the group planned to descend beyond 30 meters. That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities and the tour operator \u201cwould have never allowed it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added. The victims were experienced divers, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave diving, she said.<\/p>\n

She also clarified that Albatros only marketed the cruise and neither owned the vessel nor employed the crew, which was hired locally.<\/p>\n

Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialized training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor. Experts say it\u2019s easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.<\/p>\n

Diving at 50 meters also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 meters (131 feet) considered technical diving and requiring specialized training and equipment.<\/p>\n

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.<\/p>\n

Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel \u201cDuke of York\u201d were safe. Italy\u2019s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.<\/p>\n

The Maldives Tourism Ministry said it suspended the operating license of the \u201cDuke of York\u201d pending an investigation.<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

Zampano reported from Rome.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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