Maldives cave tragedy: five Italian divers dead, rescue diver dies

Five Italian divers are believed to have died after descending into a deep underwater cave in the Maldives’ Vaavu Atoll, while a Maldivian National Defence Force diver died of decompression sickness during a rescue attempt. Weather hampered search efforts as eight local divers worked and three Finnish cave-diving experts were en route to rethink the plan. The victims were Monica Montefalcone, Giorgia Sommacal, Federico Gualtieri, Muriel Oddenino, and Gianluca Benedetti; Benedetti’s body had been recovered near the cave mouth. The tour operator involved denies authorizing the deep dive, and the operation is under investigation.