Officials say the four scuba divers who went missing in the Maldives last week and later died were located inside what has been described as a ‘shark cave’.
Italy’s foreign ministry said on Monday (May 18) that the Italian nationals had been found within Thinwana Kandu cave, following a search carried out by a team from Divers Alert Network Europe.
Monica Montefalcone and her 20-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, along with Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri, were discovered four days after they disappeared while diving in the Vaavu Atoll area on Thursday (May 14).
Their diving instructor, Gianluca Benedetti, was found dead on Friday (May 15). Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee also died during efforts to locate the missing tourists.
Italy’s foreign ministry said the causes of death have not yet been confirmed.
A spokesperson for the Maldivian government said: “Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies.”
Laura Marroni, DAN Europe’s CEO, credited the recovery to the team’s readiness and coordination, saying: “Today’s result is the outcome of extraordinary preparation, technical excellence, and exceptional teamwork.
“We are deeply grateful to the specialists on site, who are operating with professionalism, discipline, and humanity in demanding environments.”
Four of those who died were connected to the University of Genoa, which issued a statement mourning the loss.
The university said: “The University of Genoa expresses its deep sorrow for the sudden and tragic death of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences – DISTAV, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe student in Biomedical Engineering, Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at DISTAV, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent UniGe graduate in Marine Biology and Ecology.
“The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey.”
The Maldives limits recreational diving to 30 meters (98 feet). The tour operator overseeing the trip told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that it had neither approved nor been aware of a dive that reportedly went beyond the local depth restriction.
Monica Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, told La Repubblica that his wife was an experienced diver and had completed roughly 5,000 dives.
“She knows what to do even in times of difficulty,” he told the outlet.
He also said she would usually take a GoPro underwater, which may help clarify what happened for the victims’ families.