A man left mourning after losing both his wife and daughter in Thursday’s scuba diving tragedy has spoken publicly for the first time, offering his own view on what may have led to the disaster.
Monica Montefalcone, a University of Genoa professor, and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal died after disappearing in the waters of Vaavu Atoll while they were reportedly trying to explore a cave during a dive.
Muriel Oddenino, from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua, and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero also died after they did not return to the surface.
“The divers are reported to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres [164 feet],” Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
For Montefalcone’s husband, the reported details have only deepened his doubts, and he has suggested that an unexpected incident must have occurred to claim the lives of both his wife and their daughter.
Speaking to La Repubblica, he said Monica “would never have put the life of our daughter or other kids at risk.”
“My only certainty is that my wife is one of the best scuba divers on the face of the earth,” he told the newspaper, according to the Times.
He also shared his suspicions in a separate interview on Italian television, saying: “Something must have happened,” as per AP.
As of Friday, only one body had been recovered, while officials believed the remaining four were still in the same area, according to the BBC.
Authorities said conditions in the waters where the group was diving — around 60 miles south of the Maldivian capital Malé — were unstable at the time, with winds reportedly reaching 30mph.
Those rough conditions also forced search and recovery efforts to pause on Friday due to dangerous seas, though operations were expected to restart on Saturday May 16 as the weather improved.
Reports also indicated there were about 20 other passengers who went out to sea on the same trip, but unlike the five who died, they ultimately did not enter the water — a decision that likely spared them.
“Due to adverse weather conditions, it is not yet clear whether they will be able to reach the vessel in distress, which has in the meantime moved in search of a safe harbour,” officials from Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “The vessel is awaiting an improvement in weather conditions in order to return to Malé.”
Meanwhile, an investigation has been opened to determine exactly what happened and whether any failures or additional factors contributed to the deaths. The inquiry is ongoing.