Maldives suspends search for bodies of Italian divers who had been exploring underwater caves

The search for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives has been suspended, after a military diver died trying to reach them.

Five Italians, including a professor and her daughter, died in a scuba diving accident on Thursday.

Italy's foreign ministry said the group had been exploring ⁠caves in the Vaavu Atoll at a depth ⁠of around 50m (165ft).

The fifth victim was confirmed by the Maldivian government as being diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was recovered on Thursday.

On Saturday, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu confirmed a sixth death, Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahudhee.

In a statement, he said: "The death of a diver of the Maldives National Defense Force while diving in search of missing tourists is a matter of deep sorrow for me and for every Maldivian citizen. This is heartbreaking news."

The search was suspended after the diver died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital, Maldives presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.

Authorities are awaiting the arrival of three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving, on Sunday, to rethink their search strategy, he added.

"The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission," Mr Shareef said.

Search operations on Saturday involved eight local divers working in shifts to find the missing Italians, the Italian foreign ministry said.

Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to return the victims.

The University of Genoa named four of the victims as professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, who was a student, research fellow Muriel Oddenino, and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri.

In a statement posted on its website, the university said: "The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey."

A second attempt at searching for the remaining bodies started on Saturday after rough weather repeatedly hampered the effort on Friday.

Mr Shareef said that Mr Benedetti's body had been found near the mouth of the cave, adding that it was believed that the remaining four had entered it.

Two Italians - a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert - were expected to join the recovery effort, Mr Shareef said.

Ms Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, told Italian outlet La Repubblica that his wife was an "expert" and had done 5,000 dives.

"She knows what to do even in times of difficulty," he added.

Mr Sommacal said the same goes for Mr Benedetti, who he described as "meticulous", and said: "He checked everything: the tanks, the weather conditions. He's not a fool."

He said he hopes his wife and daughter's bodies are found for his and his son Matteo's sake, but also because "Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving".

"I don't know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened," he said.

Ms Montefalcone was an award-winning marine biologist, well known for her TV appearances and commitment to conservation projects, and was previously interviewed on Sky TG24.

"I have dedicated my entire life to discovering and studying the wonders that live beneath the surface of our seas," she told a local TV station, according to Sky TG24, after receiving the 2022 Atlantide Prize for her contribution to the understanding of marine ecosystems and her commitment to marine conservation.

The divers were reported missing at around 1.45pm by the crew of a diving vessel they were travelling on, when the group failed to resurface.

Conditions were described as unfavourable at the time, with a yellow weather alert in effect.

A large-scale search and rescue operation was launched by the Maldivian Coast Guard and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF). Boats, aircraft and dive teams were deployed to the area.

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"A body has been found among the five divers who dived in Vaavu Atoll," the MNDF said in a statement to Italian news agency ANSA.

"The body was found inside a cave. The other four divers are believed to be inside the same cave, which extends to a depth of approximately 60m."

Italy's foreign ministry added that the Italian ⁠embassy in Sri Lanka was ⁠working to contact the ​victims' families and provide ​consular assistance.

(c) Sky News 2026: Maldives suspends search for bodies of Italian divers who had been exploring underwater caves