The recovery operation for the bodies of four Italian divers trapped in an underwater cave at Vaavu Atoll’s "Devana Kandu" concluded today, following the retrieval of the final two bodies that could not be brought to the surface yesterday.
Two bodies were recovered yesterday, and a government spokesperson has confirmed to Adhadhu that the remaining two have now been successfully retrieved.
The divers were located last Monday. The recovery of all bodies comes six days after they became trapped inside the cave.
The recovery operation was led by a team of expert cave divers from Finland, who were dispatched to the Maldives with the assistance of the Italian government.
Government Spokesperson Mohamed Shareef (Mundhu) said that efforts are currently underway to transport the bodies recovered today to Male’, where they will be taken to the mortuary.
The tragedy occurred during a dive involving five Italians at a depth of over 60 meters. The first body recovered was that of dive instructor Gianluca Benedetti, which has already been repatriated.
The bodies retrieved yesterday were identified as Federico Galtieri, a student at the University of Genoa, and Professor Monica Montefalcone. The bodies recovered today belong to Monica’s daughter, Giorgia Somacal, and Muriel Odenino, a research fellow at the same university.
A total of six lives were lost in connection with this incident: the five divers and Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee, a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer who died during the rescue operation.
The incident has sparked a difficult national debate regarding diving safety standards, regulatory compliance, the capabilities of emergency services, and the decision-making processes involved in high-stakes rescue operations in the Maldives.
