Bodies of four missing divers in Maldives scuba diving tragedy found

The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scientific scuba diving mission in the Maldives have been found, Italy's foreign ministry has reported.

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 on Thursday (May 14).

And it has now been reported that the ⁠bodies ​of ⁠the four ‌remaining missing Italian scuba ‌divers ‌who died ⁠last week have now been located.

The divers were part of a University of Genoa team, including Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino.

Monica Montefalcone's daughter Giorgia died during the dive. (Instagram)

One body, belonging to a fifth member of the group, diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, had already been located shortly after the accident occurred.

The searches resumed today (May 18), after being suspended following the death of Maldivian rescue diver, Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, from decompression sickness, while searching for the bodies on Saturday (May 16).

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said in a statement: "The death of a diver of the Maldives National Defense Force while diving in search of missing tourists is a matter of deep sorrow for me and for every Maldivian citizen. This is heartbreaking news."

Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee tragically died during the rescue effort. (Maldives government)

Local authorities state that the bodies were found by a team of highly trained Finnish and Maldivian divers.

The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the Maldives, which has a recreational diving limit of 30 meters (98 feet).

The tour operator that managed the diving trip denied authorising or knowing about the extent of the dive that exceeded local limits, its lawyer told Italian outlet Corriere della Sera.

The University of Genoa said in a statement on Friday (May 15) that the group were on a scientific mission to monitor marine environments, and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity.

Diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was among those who died during the scuba trip. (Albatros Top Boat)

Monica Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, has since spoken out to Italian news outlet La Repubblica, and said that his wife was an 'expert' in scuba diving having done 5,000 dives.

"She knows what to do even in times of difficulty," he said.

It is believed that the four bodies of the Italian group were located in the same underwater cave where the military found the first body on the day of the accident.

The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

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