Maldives: Bodies of five Italian cave divers have been found after accident in Vaavu Atoll, rescue diver dead

The bodies of four cave divers in the Maldives have been found after a multi-day search.

The Italians were located inside a 60-metre-deep cave by a team of Finnish and Maldivian divers.

A fifth body was recovered soon after the accident on Thursday at the entrance to the same cave.

The group of Italian tourists vanished during a cave diving expedition in the remote Vaavu Atoll, about 100 kilometres south of the capital Malé, triggering an urgent high-risk search operation involving specialist divers and military crews.

The four bodies were located in the cave’s third section and additional dives are required to recover them.

A plan is now being devised by authorities to bring them to the surface.

The BBC reported that two bodies are expected to be recovered on Tuesday, and the remaining two on Wednesday.

It is believed that it is the single worst diving accident in the Maldives.

A Maldivian rescue diver, identified as Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee, also died during the search.

A government spokesperson told the BBC that he was taken to hospital in a critical condition and later died.

“Eight rescue divers went into the water today. When they surfaced, they realised Mr Mahdhee didn’t come up,” they said.

The other divers found Mr Mahdee blacked out when they went to find him.

Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani offered his condolences for the rescue diver’s death.

“These days of grief for Italy are exacerbated by the news that one of your brave military, Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahdi, has died while attempting to recover the bodies of our fellow Italians,” he said.

“Our government, I personally, and Italy as a whole offer our deepest condolences to the soldier’s family, to the Armed Forces, and to the Maldives’ Government. This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims.”

Four of the victims were affiliated with the University of Genoa, and the other was their instructor.

Mother and daughter Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology, and her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, a biomedical engineering student, were among the victims.

Muriel Oddenino, a research assistant, and Federico Gualtieri, a marine ecology master’s graduate, were also found dead.

All five divers were travelling on a live aboard diving boat, the Duke of York, with around 20 others. No one else was injured.

The University of Genoa issued a statement offering its condolences to the institution’s community after four students were named as victims.

They paid tribute to Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a biomedical engineering student at the university, as well as two young researchers, Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri.

“To the families, to the colleagues, to the students who have shared their human and professional journey, the closeness of the entire university community goes on,” a translation of the post read.

The divers’ cause of death has not yet been determined.