A former military diver who has ‘done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves’ has claimed that ‘rules weren’t followed’ in a scuba diving trip that killed five people.
Earlier today (May 18), reports said the bodies of four divers from a University of Genoa group had been recovered.
They were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology, along with her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, and researcher Muriel Oddenino.
Instructor Gianluca Benedetti was found soon after the incident, which happened on Thursday (May 14).
A sixth death was later confirmed after rescue diver Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee died on May 16 from decompression sickness while taking part in the search effort.
The Italian team is believed to have died while exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll at roughly 50 meters (160ft). ABC News noted that the recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98ft).
An ex-military diver has since described the dive as ‘dangerous’ and raised concerns about the circumstances that led to it.
“I’ve done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves, taking the right precautions and using the right equipment,” Shafraz Naeem told Italian outlet Il Giornale.
Naeem said he was ‘always aware’ of the serious risks involved, adding that ‘expertise and precaution are necessary’.
He also questioned why the group was able to proceed with the dive.
“Everyone knows the rules were broken; they didn’t even have a permit to conduct research at those depths,” Naeem said.
The cave is reported to reach 70 meters (230ft) at its deepest point and extend around 200 meters in length.
Naeem went on to argue that ‘even the most experienced divers’ could find conditions there extremely challenging.
While the exact cause of the deaths has not been confirmed, he said that at such depths a single ‘unexpected event can quickly turn into tragedy’.
He added that it would be ‘irresponsible’ to draw conclusions before the investigation is completed.
Authorities are now examining why the divers went beyond the legal depth limit, according to Chief government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef.
“For recreational and commercial diving, by law, nobody is allowed to go further than 30 meters and unfortunately, this appears to have happened a lot deeper because even the cave’s mouth is almost 50 meters under,” he said.
The Italian tour operator responsible for managing the trip said it did not know about, or approve, any dive that exceeded local limits, its lawyer told Italian outlet Corriere della Sera on Saturday.
The operating licence for the liveaboard vessel MV Duke of York has also been suspended indefinitely.