MALE, Maldives — Rescuers have located the bodies of four Italian divers deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives, four days after they went missing, Italian officials confirmed on Monday.
Search and Rescue Efforts
Search operations had resumed on Monday after being suspended due to the death of a local military diver, who died from decompression sickness while attempting to reach the missing divers.
The bodies were discovered in the innermost section of the cave by three Finnish diving experts, supported by Maldives police and military personnel. Ahmed Shaam, a Maldives government spokesman, said the divers were found together in the third and largest segment of the cave.
Recovery operations are ongoing, with plans to retrieve two bodies at a time over the coming days.
Diving Conditions and Expertise
The Finnish divers, deployed by Divers’ Alert Network Europe, are highly experienced in technical and cave diving. They use advanced systems such as closed-circuit rebreathers, which recycle exhaled gas and remove carbon dioxide, allowing for longer dives in deep and high-risk environments.
The Italian divers, including a diving instructor, were exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) on Thursday, exceeding the Maldives’ recreational diving limit of 30 meters (98 feet).
Previous Fatalities and Challenges
Earlier, the body of a fifth Italian diver, the instructor, was found outside the cave. The rescue mission had faced multiple delays due to rough weather and challenging underwater conditions.
The mission was temporarily suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died from decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.
Investigation Underway
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the deaths. Initial teams had already mapped and marked the cave entrance prior to the Finnish divers’ operation.
