Four missing scuba divers were found dead in Maldives 'shark cave' as authorities release chilling new details
Topics: World News
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Instagram
Topics: World News
Authorities have shared further details about the location of four scuba divers who were found dead in the Maldives last week after diving in a 'shark cave'.
Italy's foreign ministry confirmed on Monday (May 18) that the Italian tourists had been located inside Thinwana Kandu cave by a squad from the group Divers Alert Network Europe.
Monica Montefalcone, 52, and her 20-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, as well as Muriel Oddenino, 31, and Federico Gualtieri, 31, were found four days after they vanished in the waters of Vaavu Atoll on Thursday (May 14).
The body of Gianluca Benedetti, the diving instructor, was found on Friday (May 15), while Sergeant Major Mohamed Mahudhee also died while searching for the bodies of the tourists.
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The Italian foreign ministry confirmed their causes of death have yet to be determined, however the Maldives government has said that the bodies were found in a network of caves, which has been given the nickname 'Shark Cave'.
The divers were said to have been found 50 meters (160 feet) below sea level.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the chief spokesperson for the Maldives government, said the bodies were found deep inside the cave.
Per the Guardian, Ahmed Shaam, a Maldives government spokesperson, explained: “As was previously thought, the four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but well inside the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the largest part."
Shaam added the four divers were found 'pretty much together'.
A spokesperson added: "Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies."
Shaam said: "The plan is they will try and recover two bodies tomorrow and possibly the other two the following day."
According to industry publication Australasian Leisure Management, Thinwana Kandu is 'a deep, complex underwater cave system, with access located at depths of between 50 and 60 metres and extending for hundreds of metres through three large chambers connected by narrow internal passages'.
Laura Marroni, the CEO of DAN Europe, the team behind the recovery operation, shed some light on the complex reality of the cave system as she said: "Today’s result is the outcome of extraordinary preparation, technical excellence, and exceptional teamwork.
“We are deeply grateful to the specialists on site, who are operating with professionalism, discipline, and humanity in demanding environments.”
Four of the divers were from the University of Genoa, with the university expressing its 'deep sorrow' at what happened.
The university said: "The University of Genoa expresses its deep sorrow for the sudden and tragic death of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences - DISTAV, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe student in Biomedical Engineering, Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at DISTAV, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent UniGe graduate in Marine Biology and Ecology.
"The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey."
The Maldives has a recreational diving limit of 30 meters (98 feet), with the tour operator that managed the diving trip telling Italian outlet Corriere della Sera that they did not authorise or know about the dive that exceeded local limits.
Lawyer Orietta Stella told the outlet that the divers appeared to be using standard recreational equipment, and not the more specialized kit that would usually be used to explore such a deep cave.
Monica Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, told La Repubblica that his wife was an 'expert' in scuba diving and had notched up 5,000 dives in her time.
"She knows what to do even in times of difficulty," he told the outlet.
He also revealed his wife typically took a GoPro on her scuba dives, which could provide answers for the families' victims.