Five Italian divers die in Maldives cave, military rescuer also killed

Five Italian divers died while exploring a deep underwater cave off the Maldives, and a Maldivian military diver died during the search for their bodies.

The victims included Monica Montefalcone, 52, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa, and her daughter, Giorgia, 20. The others were marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Gianluca Benedetti was found dead near the cave entrance shortly after the group disappeared. Authorities believe the bodies of the four remaining divers are trapped deep inside a cave system about 160 feet underwater near Vaavu Atoll.

The divers were exploring a cave near Alimathaa in Vaavu Atoll, a chain of islands in the central Maldives. Authorities were alerted after the divers failed to surface by midday Thursday, when weather conditions were rough.

Italy's Foreign Ministry said the group apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters. Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef told reporters the cave was exceptionally dangerous.

"The cave is so deep that divers even with the best equipment do not try to approach," he said.

Local officials described the tragedy as the Maldives' worst single diving accident. An Italian pulmonologist told local outlet Adnkronos that the incident suggests a problem with the tanks.

Five divers dying during the same dive event suggests not so much a depth problem, but rather an issue with what they breathed, Claudio Micheletto, director of pulmonology at the University Hospital of Verona, told Adnkronos.

"It is likely that something did not work in the tanks," Micheletto said. "The people using them could not have noticed: Checks are the responsibility of those who produce and manage the equipment."

Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, said there are several possible explanations, including an inadequate breathing mixture that can create a hyperoxic crisis. Bolognini also suggested panic may have contributed to the deadly dive.

"Inside a cave at 50 meters deep, all it takes is a problem for one operator or a panic attack for one diver," he said. "In these cases, the panic component could lead to even fatal mistakes."

A perilous search for the bodies was halted Saturday after a military diver died during the mission. Mohamed Mahdi, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died from decompression sickness, presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave system consists of three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Rescue teams explored two chambers Friday but were forced to stop because of decompression risks. Officials are now awaiting the arrival of three Finnish cave-diving specialists to reassess the operation.

Monica Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, told La Repubblica that his wife would never have put the life of their 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 said. In a separate interview, he told an Italian television station that something must have happened.