The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been brought to the surface, local officials have told the BBC.
They were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by the specialist divers from Finland after a two-hour operation, Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, stated.
The two bodies are being sent to the capital Male for identification. They were part of a group of five people who died in the accident, with two bodies still waiting recovery.
The first diver, named as guide Gianluca Benedetti by Italian media, was recovered shortly after last Thursday's accident. Sadly, a Maldivian rescue diver also perished during the subsequent search operations.
The remaining four divers were located in the deepest chamber of the cave, known locally as shark cave, which reaches depths of around 60 meters. The recovery mission for the final two bodies is scheduled to resume, with hope that they can be retrieved soon.
Investigators aim to understand the cause of the accident through these recoveries, noting that the operation has been particularly challenging due to the cave's depth and limited visibility. The divers were reportedly operating under conditions that had been noted as rough, with warnings issued for maritime activities at the time.
Four of the divers were associated with the University of Genoa, which has stated that they had not granted permission for deep-sea diving related to their scientific research activities. This has raised questions, especially since the dive was conducted under personal capacity and not on behalf of the university.
In light of the tragedy, the university has suspended all diving authorization following a governmental decree concerning dive regulations. They are in the process of creating protocols to ensure compliance with safety measures for future endeavors.
Monica Montefalcone, an ecology professor leading the group, alongside her daughter and other divers, were looking into climate change effects on marine biodiversity, which has attracted scrutiny in the wake of this incident.
