Ex-military diver claims 'rules were broken' in Maldives scuba diving trip that led to death of 5 tourists

A former military diver who has ‘done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves’ has claimed that ‘rules weren’t followed’ in a scuba diving trip that killed five people.

Earlier today (May 18), it was reported that the bodies of four of the divers, who were part of a University of Genoa team, had been found.

Associate professor of ecology at the university, Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri and researcher Muriel Oddenino were all part of the group who lost their lives during the dive.

Diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti’s body was found shortly after the incident on Thursday (May 14).

A rescue diver, Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, died on May 16 from decompression sickness while searching for the bodies.

Giorgia Sommacal was among the five who tragically died (Instagram)

The group of Italian divers are believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of around 50 meters (160ft) in Vaavu Atoll. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98ft), according to ABC News.

Now, an ex-military diver has spoken out on the 'dangerous' dive.

“I’ve done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves, taking the right precautions and using the right equipment,” Shafraz Naeem told Italian outlet Il Giornale.

Naeem said he was ‘always aware’ of the extreme risks he was taking, adding that ‘expertise and precaution are necessary’.

He then questioned why the divers were allowed to complete the dive in the first place.

“Everyone knows the rules were broken; they didn’t even have a permit to conduct research at those depths,” Naeem said.

At its deepest point, the cave is 70 meters (230ft) below the surface, and 200 meters long.

It is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the Maldives (Mohamed Afrah / AFP via Getty Images)

Naeem then claimed that ‘even the most experienced divers’ would struggle under those conditions.

The cause of deaths remains under investigation, however, Naeem said just one ‘unexpected event can quickly turn into tragedy’ at such deep deaths.

He then confirmed it would be ‘irresponsible’ to suspect what happened without a thorough investigation.

An investigation had been launched into why the group went below the permitted depth, chief government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.

“For recreational and commercial diving, by law, nobody is allowed to go further than 30 meters and unfortunately, this appears to have happened a lot deeper because even the cave’s mouth is almost 50 meters under,” he said.

The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip denied being aware of or authorizing the dive that went against local limits, its lawyer told Italian outlet Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

The operating licence of the liveaboard vessel MV Duke of York has been suspended indefinitely.