A diver with the Maldives military died on Saturday while taking part in the search for the bodies of four Italian tourists who perished in an underwater cave, authorities said, deepening the toll from the country’s worst recorded diving accident.
Five Italian divers died after descending into a cave system at a depth of around 55 metres on May 14, near the island of Alimathaa in Vaavu Atoll. Rough weather has repeatedly hampered efforts to recover the bodies.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; the marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; the researcher Muriel Oddenino; and the diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
A sixth member of the group, a student at the University of Genoa, had been preparing to join the dive but decided at the last moment not to enter the water, according to accounts cited by Italian media.
Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday. The remaining four divers are believed to be deep inside the cave, and the search for them was continuing when the military diver died.
Investigators have not established what caused the accident. Early indications suggest the group may have become disoriented or trapped during the descent or ascent, but authorities said they could not yet rule out equipment failure, decompression problems or environmental conditions.
The deaths have prompted renewed scrutiny of cave diving, among the most hazardous forms of recreational and scientific diving. The Maldives, a popular destination for divers, had not previously recorded a single incident on this scale.